


rock with you

by velvetpeach



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Lovers, Uni AU, chanhun childhood bffs, light angst???, mentioned krytoria, musician!pcy, popular boy!oh sehun, rocker!jongdae, shopkeeper!jongdae, tattoo artist!minseok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24490201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetpeach/pseuds/velvetpeach
Summary: Sehun is a cool college guy with cool friends. He also hangs out with pretty girls, but for some reason, nothing ever happens. It's only when he goes to the record shop that just opened to try to find a present for Chanyeol's birthday that he understands why.
Relationships: Kim Jongdae | Chen/Oh Sehun, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 14
Kudos: 56
Collections: First Round





	rock with you

**Author's Note:**

> full prompt: Sehun is a cool college guy with cool friends. He also hangs out with pretty girls, but for some reason, nothing ever happens. It's only when he goes to the record shop that just opened to try to find a present for Chanyeol's birthday that he understands why. That day, he is taken aback by how young and attractive the shopkeeper is. As a result, Sehun finds himself visiting the new shop more than anticipated. He blames it on his newfound interest in learning about rock music, and definitely not the shopkeeper with the catlike smile who seems to love wearing his Megadeth sweatshirt, and to tease Sehun way too much.
> 
> this is my first time to write for a sehun fic fest! i hope i lived up to your expectations, dear prompter <3 I really didn't expect to be able to churn out nearly 30k words for this one. I'll consider adding an epilogue to this, if a few of the readers want more sechen in this world :3

Waking up with a throbbing head and an unsurprisingly intact heart, Sehun is crushed by the weight of his best friend who dove on him.

“Calm down, Triple H. My head feels like a cannonball.” Sehun shoves Chanyeol away body reeling from the impact of Chanyeol. They could both fit on Sehun’s bed in the dorm anyway— a luxurious privilege for overworked college students like them. It was a tight fit though, but Sehun didn’t mind.

Chanyeol rolls over to flop onto the fluffy sheets. “I’d rather be Randy Orton, thanks.” The giant chuckles, exaggerating endlessly as he awaits a response from Sehun.

Sehun knows what this means.

The taller winks at him and Sehun’s grogginess begins to fade away because of his best friend’s enthusiasm. “So, how’d the date with Krystal go? You’ve been friends for years.” His thoughts are confirmed by his best friend’s inquiry. It was inevitable that he’d ask Sehun about it, since he was nowhere to be found when Sehun came back, and he got no updates through text either.

Sehun is frazzled at the thought of one of his closest female friends. Chanyeol probably knew that she was bi? Or did he not? How was he supposed to break it to him? Or...

Maybe he detected it somehow?

He always read people incredibly well.

They were friends too, and they’ve actually been hanging out more, because recently, Sehun’s buried himself in homework. Accepting a couple photoshoot deals with his senior, Yoonseok’s newly launched clothing company had led to more sleepless nights than usual, and nearly cost him a few late submissions. Sehun could never afford that.

Sehun recalls the “date” the night before. He’d dressed up nicely since he wined and dined Soojung—he hadn’t hung out with her in months, just the two of them. They were both uncomfortable, anyone else who would’ve seen them would be able to tell.

The date wasn’t even their _own_ idea at first. Sehun merely suggested the hangout to make up for lost time, but other friends overheard and they immediately harked like a chorus calling it a date. Not wanting to embarrass each other, they casually agreed to it. They both wished the other people would understand what it truly meant to Soojung, judging from her rolling her eyes when other people kept bothering Sehun.

Then it hits Sehun. This _was_ a hangout to him, but they both called it a date. What a mess. It was pretty though. Honestly, it did just feel like a hangout. No flirting, or subliminal messages. Just one of his coolest friends asking how he was. It was nice knowing someone was genuinely concerned about him. He felt so comforted by the fact that she made sure to ask whether he was _actually_ fine or not, since he hadn’t really spent that much time with his friends lately. Thank the endless bullets on his to-do list for that.

It was even nice being with Soojung after finally clearing up their schedules, he couldn’t deny that.

Something in him just felt desolate. He felt incomplete, like he was trying to solve a crime without having any leads. The uneasiness eventually melted away as he drank more wine, rendering him a bit buzzed.

But of course the topic would eventually arrive to... Relationships. 

Contrary to popular belief, Sehun dreaded this topic the most in any conversation. Apart from being badgered by his numerous friends and acquaintances for not having a girlfriend yet, there’s self-doubt coming from Sehun’s side too. He’s tried to look for someone, but no one’s ever really made him feel loved, unless you counted random drunk girls hugging him from behind during parties, blaming him for their perpetual one-sided crushes on him.

Those situations never failed to make him feel awkward and uncomfortable, but Resident Nice Boy Oh Sehun wouldn’t embarrass them by giving a bold rejection.

No matter how nice his circle of friends knew he was, his reputation as a coldhearted person on campus didn’t help. Sure, people thought he was cool, but sometimes he felt it was just a barrier preventing him from meeting more people because they’re too intimidated by him.

Sehun’s shaken back to reality when Soojung’s warm hand gently grazes over his own, which was nearly arctic from the string of thoughts playing through his head. She suddenly asks him about his previous dates, and is shocked when he says that nothing worked out for him. Soojung tells him that it’ll be easy for him to find somebody soon enough, a lot of people admired him anyway.

She stares at him unapologetically and squeezes his hand.

Taking a sip of the wine, she looks into her close friend’s eyes to read his reaction. “I’m pretty sure I’m gay, Sehun. I’ve been trying to disregard the feeling for months but… I can’t control how I feel.” Soojung admits without any hesitation. Sehun always loved that honesty about her.

The broad-shouldered boy let out a sigh of relief, shocking Soojung. She knew Sehun would be open to this; she didn’t expect that he’d be this _chill_ about it.

Okay, it was actually...

Involuntary?

In a sense, Sehun considered it to be some Freudian slip, acted out instead of being said. The reason why he felt comforted, he had no idea. Freudian sigh? Who knows?

“I was trying to force myself into this entire dating thing because you’re one of my closest friends, but something just felt wrong, Jung. We both know we just wanted to hang out, right?” Sehun confesses after feeling bad for doing so, but Soojung just slaps him on the shoulder to tell him it isn’t anything bad. She even paused for a bit to snap a few candid shots of Sehun.

She shows him the photographs she took. “Oh Sehun, the model that you are. Anyone would be lucky to date you, trust me.” Sehun scoffs. It was always a different sensation having a smart and pretty girl compliment you. “Krystal Jung saying that to _me_? I hit the lotto.” He teases, but offers to take photographs of her too. They come out looking effortlessly ethereal as well.

Over cake, they open up to each other, at least a little bit. “Same here, Sehun. But seriously, I just never thought I could escape heteronormative standards, but my heart felt otherwise. But now that I have support from my friends, including you… I’m really going to pursue Qian.” Her smile is catlike, and Sehun can only wish for someone he’d be willing to pursue. He grins to himself and teases her about Victoria, their senior. All along, his gut feeling _was_ right. They did look adorable when they were together.

Sehun wanted what they potentially would have, or already had.

He tells Chanyeol what happened, who doesn’t look stunned at all.

Chanyeol folds his arms, with a knowing look. “Honestly? I could tell a mile away. I wish someone looked at me the way she looks at Victoria. She helped me ask Vic what her favorite flowers were and winked. Y’know, I got what she meant then. So yeah, you were right, Sehun. It _was_ just a friend date.” Damn. Soojung got Vic flowers. That was fucking cute.

It totally was a friend date. Sehun enjoyed the slightly expensive meal, and it felt nice just relaxing after all the trouble this sem brought so far. He waited for Krystal to share more, if she wanted to. Krystal didn’t pry into his love life, after Sehun told her that she and Victoria would make a great pair. To be fair though, Sehun couldn’t realize why he always took girls to fancy restaurants on the first date. Maybe he felt like he had to project some great image to them. Maybe that was the issue.

Maybe that was his problem. Maybe trying to seem _that_ committed was a problem. His ideal date would be hanging out at the simplest place, and just getting to know her. Whether that would be an arcade or a café was up to whoever he was with. Yes, Sehun was still romantic, even though he always made his friends believe that he was realistic when it came to love.

Compatibility in terms of status didn’t bother Sehun at all. He wanted to be with someone who he’d love forever, and yes, maybe he was still too young to find someone but… He could hope, right?

He longs for love that makes him feel lighter than a cloud, feel like he’s flowing with the gentle breeze of spring, feel mightier than the roaring thunderclaps during a storm. Sehun knows that he’s a good person. He just wonders if anyone will be able to see that in him, despite his easygoing demeanor.

“Yep. Not like I regret it though. She was nice, as always. A good friend.” Sehun tries to fix up his messy hair to no avail as he feels Chanyeol’s eyes scrutinize him.

Soojung’s words are pretty much reiterated again today, but by Chanyeol this time. “You said the same thing about Mina and Irene.” Chanyeol rolls his eyes at his best friend.

Sehun honestly can’t answer him after realizing that he indeed said the same exact thing about them.

But it wasn’t because he was lying. They were all people he wanted to keep in his life, and they felt the same way about him.

He really doesn’t know why it didn’t work out with anyone yet.

There was probably something lacking on his end, but why couldn’t he identify what it was?

Mina and Irene weren’t good friends to him, they were still good friends. Nothing changed between them and Sehun after they decided that things wouldn’t work out. Nothing at all. In fact, Sehun was a lot more comfortable with them, as were they, after their respective first date failures.

So was Sehun just stuck in a fishbowl and drowning in his frustrations? Were the people around him just observing him like he was a laughingstock?

It makes him uncomfortable. Some of his friends are engaged or even married, but he’s here too worried about finishing up this degree. Sometimes he wonders—will he not be able to find someone to spend the rest of his life with?

Cliché, yes. But when he knows deep down that he’s happy alone, suddenly, he becomes hyperaware of the fact that a guy pulls out a chair for his girlfriend in a café, or that he sees boyfriends fixing the collar of each other’s shirt. He sees the pink creeping on a girl’s cheeks as her girlfriend laces into the fingers of the other.

Little things like that, and Oh Sehun’s existential crisis sparks up.

Why is he lying to himself? He _is_ afraid.

He’s terrified of being known as a pretty face and a pretty face alone.

He feels like people judge him for shallowest of reasons—his exterior.

One day, maybe someone could be brave enough to appreciate his heart, instead of being superficial like everyone else for the most part. He’s liked by pretty much everyone who’s met him, but deep down, he wonders if this is because they don’t want to get on his bad side.

He’ll just use his self-deprecating humor as a coping mechanism until the time comes. “I’m young, Yeol. We’re young, we have time. I’ll just fool around until I find someone to make a thousand paper cranes for.” Sehun smirks victoriously. He knows he just got under his best friend’s skin.

It was an inside joke between the two: Chanyeol was a devoted boyfriend to the first girlfriend he ever had and even made a thousand paper cranes for her. A true romantic.

Poor Yeol though, she broke up with him while he was making them. Now, he has a jar of a hundred something paper cranes that he’ll never give to her. But that’s fine, Yeol’s a great guy, and he isn’t hard to love. They both know that.

Chanyeol wraps himself into a blanket burrito, and looks like a giant golden retriever to Sehun with how hyped up he is. He seems way too sentimental at 8 in the morning. “Pro-tip, Hun. _Don’t_ make a thousand paper cranes, unless you know they’re the One one. Like The One. Kids these days have more romantic love languages like... I don’t know, making a playlist, or maybe... Buying your best friend some vinyls for their,” Chanyeol fake coughs, and Sehun finally gets up with little difficulty.

His alcohol tolerance is relatively high anyway, Chanyeol dubs it “a gift from above”.

Speaking of gifts, it’s the annual occasion Sehun cares about the most. Ah yes, his ever-so-subtle best friend reminding him about his birthday. He need not though, the numbers were etched into his brain ever since they were kids.

“Birthday. Yep, it’s coming up in three weeks. I know.” Sehun pours himself a glass of cold water before seeing the glass Chanyeol’s already prepared for him on his nightstand.

Truly the best best friend.

Chanyeol grins so widely after seeing his best friend pick up the glass. He proceeds to fake cough. “Oh, did I ever mention that I love Mu—“

Sehun arrogantly spills the answer. “Muse,” he proudly beams. Yeol never stops playing their music. He adores them.

Chanyeol’s taste is great though, as expected.

Chef’s kiss, his friend group would always say when Chanyeol took the aux cord. Everyone, including Sehun was never disappointed by the sounds they heard from the musically inclined man’s speakers.

Sehun peeks at the shelf full of Chanyeol’s bright records with daunting covers to remember his other favorite acts. “Nirvana, Coldplay, Queen, and never forget—“ Chanyeol continues with stars in his eyes, complete with hand gestures larger than life.

Ah, his favorite while they were but wee lads. “Green Day.” Sehun grins. It’s no use though, from the thousands of songs Chanyeol’s played around him, he can simply say that he likes them.

Now, Sehun’s realized that he doesn’t really know who sang what. He just has a collection of cool songs which are really liked by Yeol, far too busy to register which bands are responsible for the music.

That’s okay though, Sehun has his favorite singers too.

Finger guns pointed at him, Sehun shoots them back at Chanyeol with vigor. “Bingo. I hope you don’t forget.” Chanyeol does a terrible happy dance like a kid, and Sehun releases a “psh” from his pursed lips.

Seriously, he’d _never_ forget his best friend’s birthday. He’d remember it over his own, probably.

Midterms end a week after Yeol’s birthday, and Sehun can finally wallow in the pit of loneliness again.

It was a total contrast to the facade people believed he wore. But honestly, to Chanyeol, he was just a softie hiding behind an uncontrollably stoic face by default.

He used to think he was fine being alone, but seeing all gross couples be lovey-dovey on campus, and cooing at each other during hell week made him realize one thing: he was getting increasingly jealous. Wait, no. He was feeling happier and happier for them, but the feeling of isolation only grew when he was studying in the library alone, with pairs of eyes lingering around him, but too afraid to sit next to him.

Chanyeol was right. Why didn’t anything work out with Sehun?

Sure, he’s given dating a shot so many times. He knows he has a good personality, and all the moms of the girls he’d dated briefly clearly showed their support for him, even vouching for him.

Was he just detached from actually being committed, or was he really destined to finding the one maybe a decade later?

His heart would thump when he would talk to the pretty and smart girls, but... Sometimes he thinks, why? Was it because he wanted to be with them, or because he appreciated them?

Sehun pushes the thought aside begrudgingly, as he swiftly takes a shower, staying under the hot stream of water way too long because he’s holding a mini solo concert.

A week later, he finds himself alone in the dorm room on Saturday— Chanyeol’s out performing at a gig he sadly couldn’t watch. It crushed him to know that he wouldn’t be there to support his best friend, but Chanyeol insisted on prioritizing his studies first.

Kyungsoo, Baekhyun, and Yixing told him the same thing.

The entire morning is spent placing pale yellow sticky notes all over his wall with the most essential information in Biology. He was an organized guy, but his bio notes were such a mess, only the people who would be patient enough to either try to understand his bad handwriting or wait for him to rewrite his notes, would survive natural selection.

He manages to follow his schedule properly and finishes reviewing for his exam early, so he sets off to look for Chanyeol’s birthday gift, to get things over with right away.

Settling it with the sudden free time he got would save him big time soon enough. He doubts he would know a life beyond his dorm room during the upcoming exam season.

He has good grades to uphold. He isn’t like those naturally smart kids who sleep in class and get good grades without studying... 

Cough...

Kim Junmyeon…

Cough...

He had to put in all his maximum effort and focus into something when he wanted it badly, and he wanted to do well to ace everything. Ace everything, but still enjoy a good social life.

A twenty-minute walk seemed to momentarily heal Sehun of all his stress, after he left uni grounds. He found himself standing at the storefront of Electric Kiss. A quick search told him this was the coolest and newest record store, only a few months old but making a name for itself already.

The storefront looks intimidating from Sehun’s perspective, but he’s intrigued all the more. Its lighting is quite dim, considering that it’s still daytime. It looks like an art exhibit, more than anything— walls adorned with neon words, and the scent of dried flowers strong enough for Sehun to waft them from outside. One entire wall is made of old empty television sets filled with turntables, records, and pictures or letters of customers. Another wall is made up of black and white tiles with different stickers on it; Sehun is fascinated by the stickers of bright flames.

It screamed at him to take a photo. People from his uni would eat it up for being “instagrammable” as they called it.

Sehun internally apologizes for judging the store name that he deemed was cheesy.

The deep purple and magenta hues lure him in, and he’s greeted by a voice that is cheery and apathetic at the same time. Classic uni student working a part-time job to make ends meet, probably.

“Welcome!” The voice flares amidst the darkness, standing out as a clear contrast to the intensity to the room’s interior.

“Good day!” Sehun greets back, hesitating to enter the dimly-lit room.

What the fuck, Sehun? Who even says good day? He couldn’t really function after studying for hours and talking to himself.

“Do you need some help?” The voice calls out again. Sehun normally hates it when shopkeepers follow him around in stores, but he’s not too familiar with Chanyeol’s favorite musicians’ work.

Sehun is already flushing beet red, but can’t deny help. He can’t risk getting records that Chanyeol wouldn’t like. The man is standing behind the counter of the second floor, which seems pretty ominous since he hasn’t stepped out of the shadows yet.

“I’ll take that as a yes. What’s the last song you’ve had on repeat?” The man asks. It’s strange, Sehun just wanted to buy a gift for his best friend, but this guy actually seems borderline friendly.

That’s something new.

He hesitates for a bit, before recalling the song that’s been on all of his playlists lately. “Uh... Young wild and free.” There are very faint spotlights over the counter. Sehun looks up and his eyes glaze over a man dressed in black, from head to toe. This guy could pass as a model with those cheekbones. Everything about his features stunned Sehun, he couldn’t even pinpoint what made him lock his gaze with the man’s.

He just...

Shined, somehow.

Why was he selling records to someone like Sehun? He was probably more talented than wasting his time here.

“By Wiz Khalifa?” The man behind the counter presses his lips together and understandingly nods. Sehun wonders what that means.

Ha ha ha.

Let’s pretend Oh Sehun isn’t frazzled at all, if the beads of sweat forming on his forehead isn’t any indication.

“Who else do you like listening to?” The attractive man quirks up a now slanted brow. He’s got one of those brow slits. Too much commitment for Oh Sehun who was too afraid to get piercings and tattoos, in spite of the “bad boy” image he apparently projected. This guy seemed really cool, and man, Sehun was feeling very much uncool.

“Daydreamin’ by SC. Red flavor’s been on repeat for a bit.” Sehun adds. Yes, the songs might be mainstream, but you can’t deny their quality.

“Rad songs.” The man looks pleased as he lightly chuckles. Seriously, he’s so effortlessly cool, looking like a goth while raving over pop songs.

Sehun timidly agrees, not knowing what to do now, awkwardly fumbling with his keys shoved in his back pocket.

The guy turns around for a while, fixing some records on the shelf. “Oh wait, Red Flavor by Red Velvet? Seriously nothing better than listening to an eternal summer bop in November.” Oh, the guy’s cold demeanor is slowly melting now. The smile on his face makes him literally glow. The fact that he’s pretty much on a pedestal makes him look angelic, like some fallen angel energy which Sehun vibes with.

A total contrast to the all black outfit he’s wearing, adorned with intimidating chains.

He pipes up again, and makes Sehun nervous yet again. “You party a lot, don’t you? Most party kids like that. Or so I’ve noticed lately.” Kid? Sehun could probably pass as someone more mature-looking than this guy. Was he not in college anymore or something?

Sehun suddenly feels himself flare up. He’s caught aback by the endless train of questions, and shyly scratches his nape. “Typical college parties, yeah.” He tries to casually chuckle, attempting not to blurt out anything stupid. Yeah, typical, Sehun. Typically getting crazy drunk, trying not to miss your classes the next day, still hungover. Typical Sehun, charging to the karaoke machine with Chanyeol as everybody next to them hypes them up, and he wakes up the next day seeing people thirst over him on Instagram.

He isn’t used to receiving this much attention from strangers. Most of the time, people usually ask how old he is, and what his number is. But maybe he’s taking this lax kindness from the guy as affection.

Was this guy...

Perhaps interested in him?

How deprived was he of kindness from strangers to assume that?

He shakes his head in confusion, ashamed that he even thought of that for a second. Now this was daydreaming.

“Anyway uh...” Sehun really doesn’t know how to continue so he goes straight to the point. “I’m buying records for my best friend’s birthday, but I don’t know anything about rock.”

The guy just hums in thought, rapping his knuckles lightly against the counter. “Your friend’s taste should brush up on you though. Rock is an amazing genre. Literally so versatile.” In a second, the guy literally props himself up with his hand, and jumps over the counter. Now he’s on the same floor as Sehun.

Jesus. That was seriously so badass, Sehun tells himself. Musically inclined people were always so cool. Was that a prerequisite or something?

He finally stands before Sehun, and has to look up slightly so that their eyes meet. Goddamnit, his aura is still so powerful, compared to Sehun’s. 

The guy walks around the different aisles boasting vivid covers of talented-looking musicians mostly clad in muscle tees or leather jackets, chains, and all-black. It’s the section of the classics, according to him. “You have rock ballads, pop rock, punk rock, heavy metal, jazz rock, and probably a hundred other sub genres.” He motions with what Sehun observes is a very tiny hand. Sehun forgot how endearing it was to hear people talk about things they liked. There are rows upon rows of vibrant and desaturated covers of different records alike.

Sehun is needless to say, a bit overwhelmed and ends up staring at the shopkeeper’s hoodie. It looks real sick with bright red flames and such, but he can’t appreciate it because he has no idea what Megadeth is.

The man’s lips curl up into a cat-like smile. Now those are some unique lips, Sehun’s almost jealous until he snaps back to reality. “So, where does your friend fall in the spectrum?” He politely asks. Sehun is too scared to reply— he isn’t too familiar with music, not like Chanyeol is, but feels too pressured by how helpful this guy is.

Well, borderline helpful. His aura is just too...

Sehun tries to recall all of Chanyeol’s musical interests for a second, but realizes his best friend’s skills are much more impressive than he last remembered. “Not to brag or anything, but he’s kinda all over the place. He sings, plays the piano, guitar, and drums... He produces and writes music for himself and other people, mostly ranging from ballads to pop, but mostly rock. He really likes Muse, Coldplay, Queen, and Green Day.”

He’s clearly shocked. “Damn, I’m jealous. You should bring him here. Feel like he’d go ham and buy a shit lot of our records.” The guy accidentally gasps, perhaps at the uncontrolled profanity? Sehun just laughs at that, observing the guy’s sharp jawline as he turns to his side in feigned shyness.

“His producer name is Loey, in case you know him. You seem like you’re in the scene.” The moment “Loey” leaves Sehun’s lips, the guy’s eyes twinkle.

“What? Seriously? You know Park Chanyeol?” The guy looks like he just had an epiphany.

“So he wasn’t kidding when he said he made a name for himself,” Sehun talks to himself.

“Small world, then. We’ve been friends since we were in diapers.” Sehun scoffs. It’s not every day you meet someone who seems head over herls in love with your best friend. A wave of pride washes over him, and he bites down on his lip to prevent him from saying anything which will make him seem way too proud of Chanyeol. Maybe it wouldn’t sit well.

The guy still looks dumbfounded, like he can’t believe what he just heard. “That’s sick, his music is insane. Basically every established producer I know, wants to have a piece of his newest releases.” Oh. Nevermind then, the guy did all the praising himself.

Sehun is pretty stunned at Chanyeol’s popularity which is incredibly impressive.

“They’re crazy good!” He grins brightly, and Sehun does the same upon realizing how popular his best friend is in the scene. “Oh! By the way, I’m JD. Let’s find him some records?”

“Okay, JD. I’m Oh Sehun.” He outstretches his hand to shake JD’s tinier one. Sehun doesn’t know why he feels the slightest bit victorious after finding out what the guy’s name is, well, nickname at least.

Thanks for that, Loey.

His subconscious wonders if he’ll get to find out what JD’s real name is.

“We have a few Muse records here. I personally really like Madness. You know the bass is good when it doesn’t overpower the other instruments— you just feel it.” JD walks over to a turntable and plays the song.

He’s right, this is excellent. JD looks up at Sehun who’s unconsciously bobbing his head to the vibrations he hears.

Sehun loses track of time as he walks around the record store like he’s looking for candy. “Okay, I’m _definitely_ buying that for him.” He remarks, tapping his foot to the tune as he’s completely bewitched.

Listening to three records later, along with JD’s trivia about the different tracks and albums, and ultimately buying all three records for Chanyeol, another customer enters.

She’s politely greeted by JD, and they seem oddly familiar with each other. She’s drop-dead gorgeous though, and her aura just glows with subdued happiness in a sense. Even her outfit screams rock—it’s similar to JD’s outfit, except hers involves a pale lavender instead of JD’s choice of black.

Sehun doesn’t know why he feels punched in the gut when he sees Jongdae leave him so easily to help the new customer. At least he kinda bowed before leaving, but he looked really flustered when he was about to.

He’s literally just doing his job, Sehun convinces himself. What a weird sense of entitlement, he didn’t even think he had. Especially after knowing this guy for a good ten minutes. Gosh, what’s going on with you, Oh Sehun?

After a few minutes of looking through the different aisles, the woman checks out and leaves. Sehun notes that she and JD giggle as he puts an LP in a nice gift bag for her.

“Bye, JD! See you soon!” She hugs him, and he rests his head on her shoulder for a few seconds. It looks like he’s giving the best hug ever, in the entire world.

They break apart and he sees her out. “Bye Lulu!” He yells to her, and finally makes his way back to Sehun.

Jongdae presses some keys, and conjures a receipt. “So, what else do you know about rock?” He looks exhausted for some reason as he asks Sehun.

“Unlike Chanyeol, I just like listening to music, so I’m not familiar with music jargon. The only song I could think of right now is Rock with You.” Sehun jokes around, hoping the guy clerk would get it.

The shopkeeper puts his hand on his heart in an offended manner, making Sehun realize that his joke wasn’t understood. “Hey, kid. Rock with You isn’t a rock song.” JD almost looks appalled, but smiles in a teasing manner.

Goddamn.

He’s branded a “kid” yet again, and can feel his cheeks burning.

Sehun doesn’t normally feel intimidated by other men, but even with his small stature, the man before him makes him want to curl up into a ball.

What the fuck was going on? Sehun seriously never ever felt like this. In fact, most strangers seemed intimidated by him. It was because of his RBF, or so he was told...

About a hundred times, which only made him upset because he was the sweetest person to his friends.

Why was this going on anyway? The guy, JD, seemed really nice and cool and really really really helpful.

As if the guy’s stare wasn’t enough to stun Sehun the moment he entered the record shop, the surprisingly low cadence of his voice was the nail to Sehun’s coffin.

“I know, I was just kidding–“ Sehun feels like his face is burning up, how embarrassing.

“Yep, I know! Haha, don’t worry! MJ is amazing, no doubt.” He slaps Sehun on the shoulder playfully. Sehun’s surprised by the action. “I was playing along with you.” His lips curl into a grin.

So JD did understand him, and even played along with his joke. That was a relief.

Yeah, as of now, Sehun doesn’t want to embarrass himself anymore. He should go soon, no matter how badly he wants to stay, because he can’t think of cohesive things to say. “So uh… How much for all of these?” He holds up the records in his hands, and JD stares at them for a hot minute, confused.

Sehun doesn’t see the subtle pout on JD’s face as he leads the taller to the counter. Sehun takes the paperbag from JD, who respectfully bows at him.

He tries to avoid making contact with Jongdae’s skin, but fails miserably. The smaller’s smooth hands graze against Sehun’s. “Thank you!” Sehun politely says.

Jongdae smiles and bows at him kindly. “Thanks. Here’s your change. If you come by again, you get a 10% discount.” 

How tempting.

Just like that, Sehun felt a connection spark up and fade in no time. He’d never see JD again. He had no business at a record store anyway.

Well, unless he buys more records for Chanyeol’s turntable which the giant considered a public good in their dorm. Maybe he could buy his own records too, and just borrow it? Would that be fine?

10% was a pretty good deal, right? He stupidly convinces himself to return.

As his left foot stepped out of the store, he heard steps frantically running towards him. He turns to see JD.

The expression on the shopkeeper’s face is one that Sehun can’t name, but his cheeks are flushed. “Wait! What’s your name? I’m really sorry, I forgot to ask for it!” Oh shit. Sehun’s chest did something weird. Was it because his body clock was wack lately? Or maybe because he hasn’t had anything but coffee so far for the entire day?

Smiling like an idiot, he giddily turns around.

“Sehun. Oh Sehun.” Jongdae’s face lights up.

James Bond who?

“Okay, Oh Sehun. Cool name. I’ll see you soon?” 

They part ways, and Sehun realizes that maybe he will be back here sooner than he expected.

He stashes the records in a cabinet the moment he’s in his dorm again, so that Chanyeol won’t be able to find it. He also conceals the memory of himself flushing whenever Jongdae paid extra attention to him. Well, he tried to conceal them.

A week passes by and Sehun can’t stop thinking about JD. Call him crazy but, there was just something about JD that compelled him to come back, and so he did. He wanted to pass by sooner but he thought it’d be creepy, and he was relatively busy, so at least he made time during the weekend.

Exactly a week later, he’s in Electric Kiss yet again.

The moment Sehun met JD’s eyes, he was greeted by a happy musician running to him. “Oh Sehun! You’re here! I thought you’d never come back.” 

That made him feel warm.

“I’ll see you soon, Jongdae-ya!” A man passes by Sehun. If Sehun thought JD resembled a cat, then this guy definitely did too. His eyeliner only helped flaunt his flawless features. Based on Sehun’s observations which lasted less than a minute, the guy was a friend because he didn’t seem to buy anything from the store.

“See ya!” JD, no, Jongdae cheerfully shouts to the guy.

Sehun walks towards Jongdae who looks at him with anticipation. “Well... I’m here, hehe.” No shit, Oh Sehun, couldn’t you think of something less awkward to say? Then again, what else would he say?

I’m here for you?

How would Jongdae respond to that when it was so cringeworthy. He left that horrible line unsaid.

The tension between them was unbearable, until Jongdae decided to say something.

The shopkeeper cocks his head to the side enthusiastically. “So, did Chanyeol like the records?” Jongdae asks.

JD remembered. “Oh, I haven’t given them to him yet. His birthday’s on the 27th.” He remembered, huh?

“He’ll be getting them tomorrow, then. I’m sure he’ll love them.” Jongdae hurriedly says after running to the counter and swinging his backpack over his shoulders.

Sehun’s dumbfounded; was Jongdae running away from him?

“Wanna go to a café? Nearby? My shift’s over in two minutes.” He huffs and asks Sehun, cheeks tinged a light pink, after Jongdae shoves his phone in his backpack and looks back up at his face.

What the fuuuuuuuck.

Was this a date or something?

They were meeting for the second time, and the first time was as a customer and a salesman. What was going on?

“Yeah, sure.” Sehun answers. He wants to explode. He couldn’t even handle talking to JD as a customer, what more as a friend?

Don’t freak out Sehun, he tells himself.

JD points to the left of the store. “It’s a five minute walk if you don’t mind. It’s pretty new and just across the next block.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Sehun answers with haste again, and Jongdae takes his wrist, walking out as he is greeted by a co-worker, his nameplate reads Jongin, and he gives Sehun a contemplative look.

Yikes.

What did that mean?

Sehun’s probably overthinking.

The handsome man makes his way out. “Bye Nini-yah!” Jongdae turns around and softly ruffles the taller man’s hair.

“See you tomorrow, hyung. Have fun!” The tone of Jongin’s voice seems like he’s actually really sweet. He even smiles at Sehun before setting up for his shift.

Yep, this Jongin guy was definitely nice.

Jongdae’s hand curls up around Sehun’s elbow as they walk to the café.

Strange placement, but it gave him an odd sense of security. They finally find the café, which is donned in vivid colors boasting an adorable entryway with ornaments like vintage toys. “Cute, right?” The smaller asks him as Sehun holds the door open.

Sehun’s eyes are in for a feast when he sees a retro-themed café, with old arcade gaming machines, and neon lights.

“Definitely.” He’s enthralled. He hasn’t, well they both haven’t used machines like those in years. Talk about nostalgia.

Sehun orders bubble tea, while Jongdae orders an iced americano.

Jongdae manages to take a photo of what they ordered right after a waitress brings it to their table. “This is really good.” Sehun chews on some soft boba. The beverage is actually tastier than what he orders at his usual place. Needless to say, Sehun is impressed, and Jongdae is loving every bit of his reaction.

He pretty much chugs down the drink in front of a much amused Jongdae. “Slow down, you’re gonna choke if you talk while chewing boba.” Jongdae warns him, nearly choking from laughter.

Sehun flashes a thumbs up at Jongdae to prove that he’s fine.

He points at his drink and displays an overly elated expression. “The cream in this is just perfect. Not overly sweet at all. I love it.” Sehun looks like he’s shooting a home shopping network ad.

“It is, _right_? You seem like a pro describing food.” Jongdae lightly compliments him, sipping on his americano. It’s so peculiar how Sehun doesn’t feel uncomfortable with JD at all. For JD to invite him, a _customer_ out too, he seemed laid back.

Technically, Sehun’s friends did trust him to know all the best bubble tea places. It’s a shame he hadn’t known about this one earlier though. He’d have to thank the shopkeeper for that later. “Why yes, I’m a bubble tea connoisseur, JD.” Sehun attempts to wink at Jongdae but does the exact opposite. It looks like a weird blink. He doesn’t know what got into him that made him do that.

Jongdae coos over it, unfortunately noticing, and pinches the cheek of the man across him.

Sehun flares up yet again, because he feels stares from the people around them. Not really stares, more like a few glances from a patron or two, but still. Did these people assume anything? Like a telepathic message, it’s like Jongdae observed Sehun’s sudden perceived discomfort because of the unwanted attention.

After a long period of silence, Jongdae finally speaks up first. “Oh, um... This is random, but you can call me Jongdae, Sehun-ah. I think I’d like that better.” He wets his lower lip in anticipation.

Sehun tests the waters, now that he’s given permission. “Okay, Jongdae-ya.” It does sound better coming from his mouth.

They receive soufflé pancakes and Jongdae claps like a jubilant baby after politely bowing to the waitress who served them.

“Yay! These pancakes are the best.” The smaller is visibly jubilant as he pokes at the pancake with his fork, which makes it softly jiggle. Jongdae could totally be a home shopping network, Sehun remarks mentally. Sehun already feels his mouth water—fluffy whipped cream is generously put on the pancakes which are adorned with fresh strawberries and drizzled chocolate.

Sehun thinks the food looks even better in Jongdae’s photos, which don’t have any filters; the shopkeeper had an eye for angles too. “They’re _insanely_ good.” Jongdae gloats after taking another photo of the food, telling Sehun to take a bite. He’s probably a regular here, based on how the staff members here interact with him. The man clad in an oversized hoodie diligently slices up the pancake, getting a good amount of strawberries and cream as well. Sehun wants to take a photo with, or of Jongdae, but fears he’d come off a bit weird if he did.

He doesn’t eat them himself though. He offers the bite to Sehun, who happily eats it off the fork.

Don’t people do things like this with...

Their boyfriends...

Sehun’s melting faster than the butter on the pancakes, as he pushes the thought away. He’s never even thought of anything like this before and feels callow. Then again, he’s never even imagined scenarios like this during his dates with girls, which has him thinking for a second, before he decides to stuff himself.

The taller takes the bite, digging his nail into his palm so that he won’t blurt out anything embarrassing. “Things like this would make diabetes worth it.” He jokes around, patting his stomach in satisfaction, after stuffing himself with another bite.

At this point, Sehun feels like he’s hanging out with someone he’s known for years. Something is different about Jongdae, and he can’t tell if it’s his unexpected warmth of contagious optimism. 8“Super worth the mess on your face?” Jongdae quirks his brow and suddenly sweeps the pad of his thumb under Sehun’s lower lip.

“Oh,” Sehun is caught off guard. Damn chocolate. Jongdae’s looking like at him like _that_ again.

He glances at Jongdae once more, who’s behaving like nothing happened at all.

Maybe Jongdae is just a naturally affectionate person? Maybe he’s the type who’s nice to everyone.

That was the official nail to the coffin. He had some major reflecting to do, because he was having an existential crisis now.

His heart-rate speeds up; he isn’t dizzy because of the beverage that was high in sugar.

Sehun pretty much tells Jongdae everything basic about him, and Jongdae does the same. Nothing too deep, just their interests, dream jobs, and how they got here.

Turns out, Jongdae was studying in the rival university which was just prestigious as theirs. He was taking up Music Education and wanted to just make and teach music until he *rock and roll hand pose* couldn’t anymore. Well, rival in terms of sports, yes, but nobody other than the athletes really gave a damn about the disparity between the two schools. Everyone there was gifted anyway. There was no point in competing.

How ironic though, right? 

A boy who knows how to handle himself as a well-versed classical singer _and_ as a rockstar? That just screamed versatility and talent to Sehun.

For that, he was in awe. “I could seriously teach you more about rock music. It’s a genre that isn’t dying down for a reason.” Jongdae brings up after wolfing down a bite of the strawberry quite timidly.

This was insane. That was exactly Sehun wanted—his interest in the genre increased more and more. After all, he had a few modeling gigs where he had to film a campaign to rock music, and he had a really fun time when he did that.

Sehun tries not to seem over the moon about it when he really is. “I’d love that, but I feel bad for taking your time.” He shyly admits.

Jongdae gasps in disbelief. “Don’t feel bad at all, I _swea_ r. Music is a gift that everyone and anyone should enjoy.” How was it possible that he knew all the right things to say?

“Well, I’d love to learn more about it.” Sehun’s eyes light up at the thought.

After finding out that Sehun was taking up Biology with a minor in Philosophy, Jongdae is practically blown away. He commends Sehun for having enough time to balance both and still be interested, but also reassures Sehun when he shares his insecurities about it.

Jongdae taps his lips, as if to show that he’s stuck in contemplation. “You’ve made it this far, and you probably know tons of things already. Maybe taking a side job related to what you really want to do will help you decide if you wanna shift to another degree, though.” The singer offers, and Sehun seriously considers that.

“Doubting your capabilities is normal, trust me. I already know that you’re probably a genius though, so just stop comparing yourself with others. Everything changes when you care about learning more.” He shares, saying that he went through the same experience during freshman year.

Sehun takes a sip of his tea, as all of Jongdae’s words seem to resonate with him. “You got me, my GPA is actually good, and I like what I’m learning but, I don’t know if I wanna do those kinds of things for life, y’know?” He pauses. “I find modeling really fun.” The taller responds out of the blue, and Jongdae starts clapping slowly. Jongdae’s already encouraging him when this is the first time they’re speaking properly to one another.

“I just _knew_ you were involved in the art industry somehow. They say I’m pretty good at reading auras.” Okay, that was actually pretty cool. For Jongdae to have an inkling about him, he was pretty observant. But then again, he was just a freelancer who’s only had under ten gigs throughout his entire lifetime.

The pair continue to chitchat until they’re told that the café would be closing soon, earning a joint look of bewilderment from the customers. Jongdae tells Sehun to hurry up outside, and Sehun is too dazed, he doesn’t realize that Jongdae paid for the meal. The singer says that it’s nothing since he has extra money lying around from his part-time job anyway. “You’re fun to talk to, you know that? What’s your number? I think you’d enjoy my gigs.” The singer stirs up, as he’s checking if the zippers on his backpack are securely shut.

Shit um... 

Is JD _flirting_ with him or something?

His brain is short-circuiting. Why does he keep hatching things like this in his head? This is incredibly out of character for Oh Sehun.

Sehun’s hands nearly tremble as he types his number in Jongdae’s contact list. He lists himself as sehun :>

Nah, he definitely isn’t, Sehun convinces himself. The musician was just probably one of those guys who had a billion friends.

Sehun feels a rush, and it still isn’t from all the sugar he just consumed. He can confirm it by now.

There was something about being with Jongdae, but he couldn’t really name it yet. It could be the astonishment from witnessing someone be passionate about their interests, which he missed doing. He concluded it to be exactly that, so as to prevent any more expectations from him. Their hangout ended well, and Jongdae happily told him to stay safe before they parted.

Chanyeol’s birthday finally came, and Sehun hadn’t been drowning in nearly missed requirements anymore, so their group of friends established a (not really a surprise) surprise party (Chanyeol knows everything, he will Always find out about everything) for him. Red solo cups and fancy glasses overflowed with different delectable concoctions of drinks, and everyone had an insanely good time.

In fact, it was hard not to, when you were friends with Park Chanyeol.

He even had a freestyle dance battle with Sehun, while the taller giant was tipsy, and of course everyone hailed the birthday boy as the winner, sending obvious winks to Sehun who was happily filming his best friend.

They drove home, and Sehun finally gave his gift to Chanyeol after he sobered up.

Well, after Sehun made him drink about two liters of cold water.

He hands Chanyeol the box, and the golden retriever personified literally jumped up and down as he saw a peek of the records once he lifted the cover off.

“No shit! Oh my god!” Chanyeol holds all three records out like a fan, and dances some strange dance, jumping up and down. A happy best friend makes Sehun even happier. Sehun is scared of the floor collapsing when he feels a thud from each of Chanyeol’s landings.

_< Happy Birthday, Chanyeol!_

_We’ve been best friends since forever, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s not because our parents were friends. I’m pretty sure we were destined to be together. Love ya! Thank you for being my partner in dumbassery all these years. Enjoy these records, and I will enjoy your own records in a few years. >_

Sehun awkwardly coughed as Chanyeol was reading the small note before him. Sehun was honestly so lucky to have his best friend. He doesn’t imagine how different his life could’ve been without Chanyeol. He can’t even process how different he could’ve been without this guy around him. Chanyeol was always so supportive of him, and although Sehun wasn’t always so verbal with his gratitude towards his best friend, he hoped he’d appreciate his words written down for once.

Chanyeol was doe-eyed and so happy, it made Sehun’s heart swell. “Oh Sehun, you’re my best friend for a reason! I’ve wanted these records for ages!” He gives Sehun a bear hug, and Sehun feels his shoulder getting wet. Was his best friend crying?

He _was_ crying. What a giant softie. “When I hit it big, I’m thanking you in every single album I release.” Chanyeol grins like happy fellow he is. Sehun can’t wait for when that happens.

“Psh. No need bro, I know you love me.” Sehun squeezes his best friend, and mentally thanks Jongdae for recommending these records.

“Love you, bro. Tonight was great, so thankful for you all.” He was so glad Chanyeol enjoyed himself tonight. Chanyeol retires to bed with a heavy flop, and falls asleep in seconds.

Truly his best bro.

What a great night, Sehun had thought.

What he didn’t expect to think was, how things would’ve been that night if Jongdae were there too.

He and Jongdae regularly texted after they exchanged numbers, and true enough to Sehun’s subtle expectations, they immediately clicked. Sehun found himself frequenting Electric Kiss, and Jongdae just played more rock music for him each time, but still maintaining the coolest sort of professionalism when a customer entered the shop.

They continued to hang out together for about a month, Sehun passing by the record shop and staying for a while until they went to the café together. Jongdae taught Sehun endless facts about rock music, and even how to critique songs. Jongdae even learned a bit from Sehun’s unending amount of Biology and Philosophy jokes, with which he was an even faster learner.

Along with that came goofy selfies from both parties. Sehun once sent a video that looked like a tiktok, but he claimed wasn’t, with him zooming into his face each time he made a funny face in the mirror. It ultimately ended with him rolling his eyes.

When Jongdae replied “cute” Sehun was certain it was for the video he sent, and not for his thoughts about an emotional song Jongdae wrote lyrics for a few messages above—Promise. Eventually, Sehun brought up meeting Chanyeol, y’know, music people doing music people things.

Jongdae asked if he could bring his best friend too, Kim Minseok, a tattoo artist.

Everything was just so surreal to Sehun; it’s as if he’s known Jongdae for an eternity because they got along so well.

It became their routine, Jongdae would let him listen to music from his phone, just lying down on the couch in the shop when it’s empty, listening to the melodies through shared earphones. Jongdae was a de facto rockstar, but also let Sehun listen to his other favorite genres, slow jazz pieces that just made him get goosebumps.

Sehun wouldn’t be lying at all if he said each time Jongdae rested his head on Sehun’s lap, his heart would beat thunderously. He wonders if Jongdae felt the same when Sehun did that to him. The first time it happened was hilarious though, because Sehun was so stiff and literally couldn’t breathe. He was too afraid of shifting weirdly, which would lead to Jongdae falling off or worse.

Everything is just so wholesome, Sehun enjoys the break from draining requirements and so does Jongdae. He’s found a great friend in Jongdae, because apart from the guy just being cool all around, he’s probably the sweetest and kindest person he’s ever met.

The day Sehun and Chanyeol meet Jongdae and Minseok, Sehun’s best friend literally drops his jaw in surprise. Chanyeol seems starstruck, and so does Jongdae.

Chanyeol and Jongdae point at each other like That spiderman meme, leaving their respective best friends confused, as they nearly smash each other in a hug. Jongdae’s best friend is stunned by the contact, Sehun sees his reaction peripherally and nearly snickers.

Chanyeol literally jumps up and down, making the floor shake as he holds Jongdae’s hands. “You sang Up Rising, right?”

“I did!” Jongdae is ecstatic. Together, they both jump up and down.

It was cute seeing musician geeks in their natural habitat. “It was sick! Everyone at the studio loved it.” The shorter’s eyes light up at the praise, but he says that he is still “very much learning”. Ah Kim Jongdae, actual legend, but still humble as ever.

_That_ is something laudable in itself.

“All my friends were talking about I’m Fine the other day. Your work with mq never disappoints.” Jongdae compliments him, and Chanyeol hits him on the back while guffawing, claiming that it’s nothing big. Sehun nods as he observes the conversation, softly smiling at Minseok.

Jongdae pauses and points at his friend giddily. “Oh! Minseok hyung is here!”

“Hey, I think I’ve heard of you before.” Sehun thinks Chanyeol’s eyes are going to pop out of there sockets, but to be fair, Minseok hyung is insanely gorgeous. He and Jongdae could intimidate Sehun effortlessly because of their laidback style amidst their piercing gazes.

He extends his arm to shake Sehun’s hand, and then Chanyeol’s. “I run a tattoo shop, hehe.” The cat-eyed man brushes it off like it’s nothing when Chanyeol’s attention, and hands are on him. Well, not too boldly, but Sehun is still shocked at how easily the two warm up to each other. Turns out they have mutual friends, also known as musician friends who get tatted up a lot.

Minseok shows off half of his sleeve after lifting the fabric concealing it, much to the appreciation of Sehun and Chanyeol, who were lost in the alluring lines and forms of ink like vines on the man’s arm. “Yup, I was right, it _is_ you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Yunho.” Chanyeol brightly declares, and Jongdae and Sehun stare at the pair in awe.

Yunho was a big shot in the industry, Sehun easily recognized his name as Jongdae’s made him listen to his songs recently. In fact, he was much older than all of them, but was still out there touring with a solid fanbase and sold out shows everywhere. He was an icon to say the least. “He has? I just inked him up just a few months ago!” Minseok smiles, lips prettily perking up as Chanyeol acts like he normally does, but clearly tries to get this guy’s attention. He’s practically dazzling—Sehun’s seen this a lot of times.

Chanyeol pouts in feigned dissatisfaction. “He _always_ shows off! Wanted to book you for the longest time but,” The conversation diffuses as Sehun and Jongdae awkwardly back away, asking each other how their day was so far, letting their respective best friends get to know each other better.

Despite the distance, Chanyeol’s voice is loud enough for them to hear again, and Jongdae pipes up as Minseok calls himself uncool when Chanyeol compliments him. “You’ve tatted up people like Lee Donghae, Yunho, and Changmin. Save it, you are cool.” Jongdae yells at his best friend.

“Donghae? _The_ Lee Donghae too? That’s sick. You gotta ink me up once, I’ll pay any price.” Chanyeol is fully blown away by this guy’s clients.

Minseok blushes and laughs really softly. Shyness looked cute on him actually. 

Sehun steals a glance towards Jongdae’s direction, and sees the rockstar balling his fists in a mixture of affection and shame.

What was with Jongdae looking scary but actually being soft? His best friend seemed to have the exact same aura too.

They end up just talking about what each person is doing over coffee for a couple hours, and eventually they talk about Jongdae.

Jongdae shyly connects his phone to the Bluetooth speaker when Minseok asks him to play his work. “Dude, your voice is seriously something else. I’d love to work with you.” Chanyeol is literally stunned by some recordings of Jongdae which Minseok let him hear.

“Yeah, we should.” Jongdae says, strangely after looking at Sehun first, like he wanted to gain approval.

Chanyeol and Jongdae talk about music for a while, and Minseok gets to know Sehun better. Just like his best friend, he isn’t surprised about Sehun being a model. Sehun, on the other hand, is astounded when he finds out about Minseok’s career, and how he’s always pursued being a tattooist, which has made him make a name for himself in the industry. Minseok does produce some tracks and even helps Jongdae sometimes, but he really is most passionate about inking others up and leaving intricate stories on their skin in black and white, or color.

They continue talking for hours as Minseok finally pays the bill after engaging in a friendly banter with Chanyeol for at least ten minutes about it. “Let’s stay in touch, yeah?” They exchange numbers, after Minseok is given Chanyeol’s. Sehun tries not to scoff at how giddy his best friend looks, because it’s incredibly cute and stupid at the same time.

The four men take a quick group photograph, care of Chanyeol’s freakishly long lean arms, and go their own way home with their respective best friend.

As soon as Sehun flops on the couch, he’s reminded of Jongdae’s giggles when he was speaking to Chanyeol. Chanyeol was obviously into Minseok, yes. But Sehun wouldn’t be lying if he said that his heart clenched a bit whenever he saw Jongdae look so impressed by Yeol. Maybe if he knew more about music, he could do that too

He groans out loud.

“You okay, kid?” Chanyeol teases, he learned about Jongdae calling Sehun a kid when they first met.

A dense throw pillow is hurled to hit Chanyeol, which he deflects at the last minute. Always the best evader.

“Jongdae was really nice. I was just playing.” Chanyeol throws the pillow back, which is caught by Sehun. When he doesn’t respond, Chanyeol asks him a question.“Hey, are you into him or something? It’s nothing to be ashamed of, bro.” Something flares up in Sehun, and he doesn’t know why he spit this biting remark at his best friend.

Chanyeol stares at him, agape, before sitting beside Sehun and lovingly hitting him a little bit too hard on the back.

He can’t think of a proper answer, because he knows his delayed response is already a dead giveaway/ “You like Jongdae, _don’t_ you?” The smirk on Chanyeol’s face just oozes with mischief, and Sehun is flustered.

Defensive Mode [ON.]

“What? No, you just kept praising him and you guys kept talking really well with each other so I figured _you_ like hi—” Sehun was borderline freaking out, hence the crossfire babbling.

His best friend immediately puts his foolish thoughts in order. “Oh Sehun, please. Your face gives it all away. I can totally tell that you like him. Hearts shoot out of your eyes like an instagram filter or something whenever JD smiles or just speaks in general.” Chanyeol caresses Sehun’s face, which is hot to the touch.

Great, that’s definitely extra evidence for Chanyeol.

“You like him.” Chanyeol repeats, staring him dead in the eyes.

Sehun stammers at the accusation.

Wait—it came off as a statement.

Was it a truth he didn’t want to unearth in his head filled with excuses coated with white lies?

“Listen, I just asked you a question and you made it about me, which isn’t fai—“ Sehun reasons out, eyebrows furrowed.

Chanyeol motions for Sehun to stop speaking. “Just accept it if you want to get laid. I don’t mind. It’s good that Jongdae is the awakening for you. Dude’s got killer looks and is fine as fuck. I mean, have you seen his ass?” Sehun’s eyes widen at the realization, heat creeping to his cheeks as he never really tried to pay attention to things like that and oh, is the AC in their room even on?

It was suddenly so hot.

“Uh, Yeol... Hold on... Why does it sound like _you’re_ hitting on him?” Sehun rolls his eyes. It defeated the entire purpose of his argument. Besides, Jongdae wasn’t just someone who should be an easy lay, no. Not at all. Jongdae was warm and deserved love and support and soft hugs and holy shit-

The bigger giant grows frustrated as his best friend can’t seem to understand. “No, I’m helping you see his good assets. You have quite a lot too, you’re pretty much perfect bro.” Chanyeol sincerely stated. “But seriously, it’s normal to be confused about things like things. I’d know from experience. Just let nature take its course, and time will tell if you’re feeling is real. Don’t be afraid.” His best friend warmly gazes upon his.

If that wasn’t a real bro moment, Sehun didn’t know what could be considered as one.

He dodges the topic by retorting, though. “So Jongdae and I are perfect to you just because you have a flat ass. Interesting.” Sehun grins sheepishly, annoyingly smirking so hard, Debby Ryan could smirk her heart out. His best friend rolls his eyes and does the same, but ends up flaunting his cute dimple.

Chanyeol gasps and clutches his heart in faked pain. Well not really. “I was trying to compliment you, dummy. What you’re doing to me is called presidential harassment!” He starts fuming from Sehun’s playful jab.

The two just end up laughing, before Sehun clutches his stomach from the pain it induced. “Psh, Yeol… You’re too observant for your own good. And fine. Okay. I...” Sehun scoffs and covers himself using his pillow.

Would he tell Chanyeol, when he was too afraid to admit it to himself?

Sehun thought long and hard for a good minute—but Yeol practically was his brother, and was on his side all the time. There was no turning back now, especially when his best friend could give him advice. Which hopefully wouldn’t include beating the shit out of your crush each time he says something hilarious.

Brave enough to acknowledge his uncertainties, he feels more than accepted by his best friend. “Think I like him. I just _might_ ,” He buries his face into the pillows, hoping that his confession is shouted out into the oblivion and that Chanyeol didn’t hear him at all. His sudden realization explained so much of his earlier frustrations.

Saying the words out loud made him feel relieved but so vulnerable at the same time.

How would Chanyeol react?

“Great. It wasn’t that hard to admit, right?” The bigger giant is making a show of his eyebrows, quirking them up alternately. Yet again, his best friend isn’t appalled at all at his newfound knowledge. Did Chanyeol have an inclination about all of this?

Sehun feels his face burn, unable to contain the embarrassment under supposedly thick skin, while still wrapped in the security of his burrito blanket.

Aw fuck, Sehun thinks.

Was he _tha_ t transparent? Was it the best friend telepathy or his stupid giddy grinning at his phone all the time? Or maybe because he just found himself always running his mouth about Jongdae nowadays? Jongdae made me listen to his cool demo this, Jongdae and I went to this café that—was he just playing Captain Obvious?

So, was Chanyeol was really fine with everything?

Sehun dodges the question when his insecurities swallow him up yet again. “But you guys seemed to hit it off, excellently if I may be so bold, bro.” Chanyeol pauses, like he didn’t expect that at all.

“Seriously. Gah, you just know all the right things to say all the time. And you both have a common ground. I couldn’t understand all the jargon, but it seemed like Minseok was on board too.” Sehun peeks out from under the fluffy pillow. He admits everything fearlessly.

Chanyeol scoffs and lifts the pillow up, to flick his best friend’s forehead, earning him a yelp. “Please, you’re effortlessly lovable. I’m glad I got Minseok’s attention for a good while though, he’s seriously _so_ dreamy.” The look on Chanyeol’s face is so stupid, but Sehun likes it. His best friend keeps batting his eyelashes when he mentions Minseok.

His best friend was definitely beguiled by and absolutely smitten over the cool tattoo artist.

Sehun figured that he looked like that when he was around Jongdae too.

Chanyeol softly lies down beside Sehun, stroking his shoulder. “But if it means anything to you... I noticed the way Jongdae looked at you whenever I spoke to you... It was the heart eyes thing too, but a hundred times more composed and lowkey.” He hugs his smaller best friend, and Sehun is glad Chanyeol can’t hear his heartbeat, because he definitely hadn’t noticed that Jongdae looked at him like that. “It’s something only a master like I can read.” He teases Jongdae. Maybe that was for the better, because he’d probably be reduced to incoherent phrases if he was also good enough at reading people.

Oh, the strange heart eye description, maybe Sehun couldn’t identify it because…

Jongdae looked at him like that normally? The weird surge of confidence it gave him made him feel gross for him to assume that, but Chanyeol was right. Maybe he should trust those tiny signals.

“Minseok told me the same thing.” Sehun felt something gushy in his heart as his best friend whispered in his ear—he was annoyingly sensitive there so he playfully shoved Chanyeol away. This couldn’t be real. Sehun didn’t even fully realize that he liked guys until he spent quite a lot of time with Jongdae, so how would Minseok know?

Also, how did Minseok manage to tell him that when…

Oh, it must’ve been when they leaned in and whispered to each other.

Sure they were best friends, but being led on was always a possibility.

There it goes again, Pandora’s box is slowly being emptied out, a flood of Sehun’s numerous possibilities drown his optimism. But there’s one phrase that only seemed to echo in his mind now.

Minseok and Chanyeol, huh?

They actually seemed to get along with a hitch. “So you like the best friend of the guy I like, huh?” Sehun pokes Chanyeol this time, eyes crinkling as he sticks his tongue out at his own best friend while laughing.

The musician doesn’t play along with the childish antics this time. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Double dates are the best.” Chanyeol’s eyes twinkle as he chugs some chocolate milk from the fridge.

Double dates? Sehun panics at the thought of that, before realizing they just lowkey had one.

With that, Chanyeol leaves Sehun with his contemplation, and heart beating a bit too much faster than usual.

Sehun felt too shy to message Jongdae first, but surprisingly, less than an hour after Chanyeol left, he got a text from JD. His heart beat faster when he saw the familiar emoji beside his two new favorite letters.

_From: JD :3 [8:02 PM]_

_minseok and yeol seemed to get along well lmao... was i the only one who felt like a third wheel :0_

Oh that’s pretty ludicrous, then... Sehun wasn’t delusional when he Felt That too. A few seconds later, Sehun was ready to hit send, when he realized that doing that’d made it seem like he had been waiting for a message for Jongdae. He waited a couple minutes before sending his message.

_To: JD :3 [8:05 PM]_

_NOT AT ALL JDJJD didn’t u notice my cries for help ;-; kept looking over at u_

_From: JD :3 [8:06 PM]_

_i DID... just couldn’t respond properly, sorry sehunnie <___>_

_oh btw you can pass by tomorrow! i got the playlist ready for you :3_

Sehun remembers asking Jongdae for more music recommendations, and the latter cheerfully offered to make him a playlist. Now, Sehun feels something he thinks he shouldn’t... Attention and some kind of care? Jongdae devoted time to making that for him... Thought of Sehun while selecting songs with appropriate melodies and lyrics. What meanings could they bear for Jongdae?

_To: JD :3 [8:07 PM]_

_It’s no problem, I swear!!! I’ll be there tomorrow : > thank you sooo much for helping me learn more_

_From: JD :3 [8:11 PM]_

_ofc! it’s my Job™️... also if u had time could i call u for a bit?_

Wait... Did he just ask Sehun that?

Sehun’s brain glitched, coordinating poorly with his fingers as he tried to make a swift decision.

He _definitely_ wanted to call Jongdae, there were no second guesses.

Or were there?

He felt insanely comfortable around Jongdae, that was a fact. Call him cliché, but no one else has ever made Sehun feel like this. But now that Sehun finally came to a conclusion about his feelings for Jongdae, he was more conscious about his own actions and words more than ever.

What if Jongdae could see through him, but eventually never like him back?

Hell, what if Jongdae was planning to say that the next time they’d see each other, since it seems like Minseok and Chanyeol noticed everything?

Nah, Chanyeol wouldn’t do that, right? He couldn’t and wouldn’t do that, when nothing was settled yet.

Sehun imagines darkened clouds forming to cover up the blinding sunshine, if and when that would happen. He couldn’t let that happen, as Protector of photosynthetic materials, he now wanted to protect the first type of warmth he didn’t want to let go of—personified in Kim Jongdae.

_From: JD :3 [9:30 PM]_

_omg i must’ve made u really uncomfortable im sorry_ _☹_ _it’s completely fine if you’re busy_

Or if you don’t want to, Jongdae admits the possibility to himself.

Sehun’s eyes threaten to pop out of their sockets when he reads that. He’d been worrying about the call for so long, Jongdae probably felt like Sehun didn’t like the idea at all. Sehun would probably feel the same thing, but he accidentally left Jongdae on read for an hour.

_To: JD :3 [9:32 PM]_

_JD, NOT AT ALLLL oh no don’t worry, I swear I just thought I replied already in my head_

Did he ruin it?

But with that, he doesn’t know why he got the strength to call Jongdae.

He could handle this, he could.

_From: JD :3 [9:35 PM]_

_phew, sehunnie… i was actually worried for a bit <__> are u really sure though? if yes, you can set the time hehe_

Oh gosh, so JD was worried for a Bit, or so he said. Sehun didn’t know he could have that effect on JD, but he didn’t want JD to feel bad about him again.

_To: JD :3 [9:37 PM]_

_jd, seriously!! Don’t worry at all >:0 also i’m actually free rn if you’re down_

Yes, Sehun was in his pajamas, and his hair was all messy after burying himself under the sheets for so long, but a glance in the mirror told him that he still looked decent somehow. He runs a hand through his hair to supplement that.

Wait, that is, if Jongdae wanted to video call him.

Sehun feels something strange in his stomach yet again, there it was, threatening to eat him up. He shouldn’t feel shy around Jongdae, not at all. Within minutes, he’s welcomed to a soft-looking Jongdae in his room decorated with different band and movie posters.

They end up talking about weird stupid things up all night, and Sehun thinks he could get used to hearing Jongdae’s laugh. It was cute and definitely appealing, to him, at least. There was just something so contagious about the joy he elicited, making Sehun feel less weary.

Jongdae tinkers around in his bedroom until Sehun sees that he’s holding some speakers. “Wanna hear my demo? I’ve been working on it for ages but… The producers don’t really like it so far,” His agenda for now was to seek out Sehun’s opinions on his music. He needed a confidant since his ego was being butchered by multiple higherups, and he knew Sehun would be honest if he had time of day.

Hearing Jongdae’s original work? Obviously he’d love to. A track called Promise is played after Sehun’s positive response, and he gets chills from the instrumental alone. Hearing Jongdae’s soulful vocals makes him melt and freeze at the same time from the goosebumps it induced. This guy is on a different wavelength of talent and passion for his craft, and that just made Sehun’s heart swell a bit more for the musician.

Sehun doesn’t realize that he’s actually tearing up until he feels a tear drop on his shirt. “Oh shit,” he mutters embarrassingly, hoping Jongdae wouldn’t think he was weird or something.

“You liked it? Seriously?” Jongdae’s face is literally so close to camera, it seems like he could pop out of Sehun’s phone screen anytime now. He’s doe-eyed as he seems touched by Sehun’s reaction. Sehun chuckles and says he did, and is privileged to see a reaction of a happy Jongdae jumping up and down in the air while pumping his fists in celebration.

How could the producers not like Jongdae’s track? Everything about it was good—from the lyrics to the melody, and the structure wasn’t too basic but it was definitely catchy despite being a ballad. That’s why it was a good song. Jongdae wasn’t just feeling it himself, he sang with so much skill that he was able to evoke the listener’s emotions too.

He suddenly gasps as Jongdae is still happily dancing, earning a gasp in response. “Anything wrong, Sehunnie?” Jongdae asks cutely, and Sehun wants to melt once more.

His ears turn red at the attention and affectionate nickname. “It’s nothing I… I just realized that I might’ve made up a critique of your song after listening to it and used all of those fancy terms you taught me. Just pretty cool cause now I listen and think of music differently because of you.” Sehun shyly admits and Jongdae flashes the prettiest and warmest smile of contentment.

“You’re too sweet Sehunnie, but that was all you. I just helped a bit of course. It’s my dream to help people feel better with music. Maybe you can walk the runway to my tracks soon.” Jongdae grinned, and Sehun smiled back at him. This was so wholesome. The singer mentioning Sehun’s own dream made his heart ache, because he so badly wanted that, and couldn’t get the idea out of his system now that it existed in his headspace.

“I’d love that, seriously.” Sehun shares. “So would I.” The singer replies, before Sehun asks to listen to the next track.

Jongdae tells Sehun the producers didn’t quite like it because they feared the general public wouldn’t be inclined to like it, but he loved the song and was willing to fight for it. Art for utility and not for art’s sake anyway. He wanted people to resonate with it and gain a sense of healing.

Sehun ends up listening to a few more demos of Jongdae—all of which the producers subtly turned down in a not-so-nice manner. Jongdae blamed it on his vocals but Sehun could only pinpoint one thing from the phenomenal recordings. Jongdae sounded great, but did he _feel_ great when he was recording? Or did he feel burdened by the possible harsh words he could hear from the studios he would send it to?

Sehun’s words touch Jongdae who suddenly says that he’s been in a bit of a slump. He hasn’t been this vulnerable in front of anyone in a while. Jongdae tells him he doesn’t know the last time he slept without crying once throughout the day. Being considered a top singer at his young age was pressure enough, but having people criticize his music which he thought was already good, when they just made him feel like shit instead of giving him advice only made him feel worse.

“Sehun, I’m really thankful you liked everything I listened to so far. Only _you_ have heard all of these…” Sehun bites his lip, feeling his heart race at Jongdae’s words. “I just want you to know that I genuinely love these songs and I’m not praising you just because we’re,” He gulps as he finishes his sentence. “Friends.” Sehun reassures Jongdae, who wipes the corner of his eyes with the hem of his sleeve in response. Seeing Jongdae so openly vulnerable like this made him feel the weight of bearing Jongdae’s trust. He didn’t want that trust in him to ever waver, as would his trust in Jongdae would remain strong too.

After pacing back and forth while trying to pick which songs to play next, Sehun encourages Jongdae. “I love this one.” Jongdae plays around five rock songs that all have Sehun wanting to headbang to the beat, but he’d wake Chanyeol up for sure. His favorite from the bunch was absolutely hard to select because they were all just so astounding. He declares that it’s Watch Out, earning a surprised yelp from Jongdae who says that it’s his personal favorite too.

Something about Jongdae’s confidence in the track was just the highlight of everything amidst the lyrics threatening its listeners to not underestimate Jongdae as accompanied by those sick basslines, riffs, and drumbeats. Jongdae’s range was impressive, to say the least.

Another one of Jongdae’s demos started playing, but the screen was now black. The song is probably called She’s Dreaming, Sehun guesses based on the chorus. It’s dreamy and perfect to set him in a trance, but the lyrics make him sad yet hopeful at the same time. It’s an R&B track and Sehun wouldn’t mind having it on loop. He called out Jongdae’s name a few times, only to hear a soft snore in response. Cute, he thinks.

He was probably asleep then. Jongdae must’ve been tired, he had a long day and even practiced after hanging out with the guys earlier.

Just as Sehun was about to say good night, Jongdae’s voice compelled him to listen to the track.

Seriously, what the fuck was this magic?

It was a ballad, completely different from all the other genres he’d heard Jongdae sing in the demos earlier. This one definitely wasn’t a demo. It was a cover.

Drunken Truth was a song that required vocal prowess, and every time Sehun hears Jongdae’s voice, he never fails to discover more ways to appreciate its individuality.

Jongdae’s range really was unbelievable, and the outcry of emotions in everything, especially the run was just pure honey to the ears. Sehun was astounded as he felt Jongdae’s emotions from each syllable and every word in the song, which was an even more delightful gift to his ears because of Jongdae’s effortlessly seamless transitions to tricky notes.

He continued listening as he saw an unresponsive screen. Jongdae was definitely asleep.

Sehun listened to a powerful run from Jongdae, and at this point, words weren’t enough to describe Jongdae’s vocal prowess.

< even if my sloppy declaration seems corny or unbelievable, it is not something i am just saying >

The song had him breathless and feeling giddy at the same time. Its lyrics were so touching, it’s like Jongdae was singing right next to him. He wanted to hear more, as his level of appreciation for Jongdae’s skills had further deepened. The man was incredibly blessed and skilled. The words ‘I love you’ sounded great when sung by Jongdae, and Sehun would be lying if he said his heart didn’t flutter a bit.

Another song started playing, Sunday Morning by Maroon 5, and yet again, the screen was still filled with the black of night.

Or probably Jongdae’s couch, bed, or clothing.

< that may be all I need >

Sehun was fully convinced now that Jongdae could sing practically anything and pull it off. He even heard some songs in Mandarin and was impressed beyond compare.

Two songs had played while Jongdae hadn’t responded, and Jongdae still hadn’t responded to his name being called out softly several times. Maybe Sehun should just hang up, it’d be creepy to keep listening right?

Yet again, Sehun was about to sleep when he heard a strange sound of something shifting.

“Hey, you’re asleep, r-right? Jongdae?” Sehun nervously asks, but suddenly musters up some courage to confess to a sleeping Jongdae.

It’s not like he would hear anyway, right? This might be Sehun’s one chance to tell him while not making a fool of himself. “Good night, JD. I really, really think I’ve been feeling something crazy but—”

This new recording wasn’t professionally recorded, Sehun thinks Jongdae recorded it on his phone, judging solely from the background noise. Jongdae was laughing for some reason in the recording, and began to spew out some lines from…

Guess what…

Michael Jackson’s Rock with You.

< share that beat of loooove >

Jongdae said the tracks would play in order from the earliest recorded to the latest. So… did that mean that Jongdae sang it because of Sehun? Or was he too bold and cocky to assume something like that?

Sehun’s heart started beating like crazy, but this was stopped by a loud curse erupting from the speakerphone, followed by loud yelling.

He can clearly see what happened now, as the phone fell at a rather odd angle, but good enough to let Sehun see Jongdae.

“Shit!” A now awake Jongdae falls off his couch, struggling to get up. Sehun is stunned at the sight on his screen, a tiny Jongdae groans and groggily gets up to his knees. As he does so, Sehun sees a flash of the boy’s toned stomach.

Those were definitely rock hard abs.

Sehun shouldn’t be having thoughts about them, especially when his friend (???) just fell down. He dismisses his bad thoughts and tries to help through the screen, but the only thing he can do right now is ask if Jongdae’s fine.

“A-Are you okay?” Sehun repeats over and over again, only to see JD slowly slump to the floor with half-lidded eyes. Poor guy was on the verge of falling asleep again, after falling down. He must’ve been dead tired.

Jongdae falls to the carpet with a second thud. “Hey, JD! Are you alright? JD?” The phone fell out of Jongdae’s hands as Sehun continued to ask if he was fine.

A tiny thumb victoriously shapes itself up, to alert Sehun that its wielder is fine.

Sehun chuckles at the sight of the thumb—Jongdae is clearly lying down on the carpet.

He hears faint laughter from the singer who slowly props himself on his elbows. “Now you’re awake! Are you hurt? Go check if you have any bruises or cuts, go!” Sehun has an existential crisis, and feels sweat beading on his forehead. Jongdae nearly heard the most stupid confession ever. Needless to say, he’s extremely worried about Jongdae.

Could he have gotten injured?

“’M Sorry I fell asleep on you, having to listen myself over and over again is killing me.” Jongdae covers his mouth as he deeply yawns, and proceeds to soothe his back with his hands. The somber look on his face is back again. It makes Sehun’s heart plummet to the ground. He can’t comprehend how Jongdae would feel bad about his voice when Chanyeol told him that he was growing to be popular in the field as well.

Jongdae barely rested, so Sehun is glad that he managed to take a nap. It was rather unfortunate that Jongdae seemed to not like listening to his recordings so much anymore.

Perhaps it was a personal standard he tried to uphold? Or maybe it was some technique in music that he didn’t execute properly during his recent recordings, and Sehun just couldn’t tell.

But that couldn’t be it at all. The thought of anyone making Kim Jongdae feel this way made Sehun get increasingly furious. Hopefully, no one was doing this to him.

Sehun swallows a thick lump in his throat, trying to summarize his thoughts to let Jongdae know that he cared. Well, hopefully without implying that he had a crush on him. “You sound great in all of them though, I promise. I mean it.” He looks Jongdae in the eye through the screen, and Jongdae’s eyes glimmer, making his legs go weak even while he’s in bed now.

Jongdae breathes a deep sigh before he utters anything. “Thanks.” He says, meaning everything the one little word offered completely.

“It means a lot to me.” As Jongdae sits himself up against a tan couch adorned with cute gudetama and avocado plushies, Sehun sees sleepiness evident in his gaze, but also sees tears on the brink of their spillage. Oh, if only he could wipe them away, or pat Jongdae on the back. “I’m sure anyone who knows you would be even more proud of you after hearing what’ll become of these songs.” Sehun admits with full confidence, hoping he was able to give Jongdae the reassurance he deserved.

He sighs deeply enough for Sehun to recognize that he’s glum, and exasperated above all. Jongdae looked drained this week. “Wish my family felt the same way.” Jongdae remarks, face downcast. He forces a smile a few seconds later though, but Sehun can see right through it.

Sehun doesn’t ask away and respects Jongdae. “The folks have always been supportive, no doubt. Even hyung too, but… Aunts and uncles and even some goddamn distant relatives I’ve never met always seem so appalled by the idea of me liking rock… When I’ve been trained classically since I was a kid.” He quickly clarifies, without Sehun having to ask.

Sehun is appalled by the idea of Jongdae’s relatives being unsupportive when he was just so gifted. “Hey, being unsuccessful with your passion and talent is just impossible. Trust me, you’ll do well. Don’t be too hard on yourself on the way there, because you’re definitely getting there. And you aren’t alone.” Sehun offers a comforting smile before yawning, as he sees Jongdae rapidly rub his fist against his eyes.

Jongdae buries his face into his hands and deliberately chuckles right after. “Ugh. How sweet, Sehunnie. Okay… Well, this is good night then, right?” His voice is even deeper than usual after waking up from the unplanned power nap.

Sehun is about to reply with a question of his own, before realizing that it was already past midnight.

They’d talked for _that_ long.

“Don’t wanna keep you up any longer. Thanks for staying with me, philosopher biologist model Sehunnie. Seriously.” Jongdae’s lips curl up into a smile that rivaled the Cheshire cat’s own. Sehun couldn’t prevent himself from turning red though, as the compliment instantly made him blush.

His definitely won though, because it melted Sehun’s heart.

Oh, please keep me up, Sehun silently yearns.

Sehun agreed though, because Jongdae is obviously about to fall asleep again, observed through the screen.

Jongdae suddenly puts on a heart filter on himself and playfully sends an air kiss— his pout becomes a full blown pink heart on Sehun’s screen. Yep. He can’t handle this.

He’s whipped.

“Bye!” Sehun waves, and ends the call before Jongdae’s giggles that are all too cute send him into cardiac arrest.

Man, Sehun could deny it for as long as he wanted to but...

This is the lightbulb moment, he really, really, _really_ does like Jongdae.

He pretty much wants to do nothing more than listen to his soothing voice all the time, like he did just now. Preferably not from his phone speaker though. His presence just made Sehun feel so important and...

Oh gosh he can’t say it, he can’t even say the word 

l-lo 

l...

lo-

Appreciated, Sehun rationalizes.

Love is way too strong an emotion to harbor. For now, at least.

[he can’t deny that he is feeling it though. well, whatever he thinks it is.]

Sehun’s classes end and he’s in Electric Kiss yet again. The familiar purple hues greet him, glaring softness instead of intimidation, and he tries to feign off his conscience telling him that Jongdae was looking him up and down as he entered.

Sehun put on his specs today, and a fitted striped polo. Chanyeol shoved these trousers at him too, which he said made his ass look better than usual. Looking at his reflection in the mirror before heading out, Sehun mentally agreed with Chanyeol. Maybe he did have an eye for these kinds of things.

Deterring from his best friend’s strange fascination for butts, said best friend was out with Minseok today. That was some kind of speed, wasn’t it? 

A cute café date for the rocker and tattoo artist. Turns out they were even going to a music festival in a few weeks time, _together_. But that wasn’t all. Minseok agreed to ink Chanyeol up for free, amidst his hectic schedule filled with VIP clients. Sehun realizes that he first hung out with Jongdae at a café too, except theirs wasn’t called a date anyway.

His best friend was quite a charmer, huh? Sehun smiled to himself after knowing that his gentleman of a best friend would still try to pay Minseok even if he refused, or would generously tip him.

Oh, if only Sehun was courageous enough to ask Jongdae out, like Chanyeol asked Minseok.

“Hey! You look really nice today.” He hears a familiar voice seem like it’s in awe, clearly hearing that it came from a smiling mouth, without even seeing it.

Jongdae steps out of the faint shadows. He’s wearing a...

That’s nothing compared to the—fucking shit.

Jongdae’s... Blond now?

Yep. It’s the end for Sehun. 

Seriously, Sehun knows he probably looks like an idiot, but he just can’t rip his eyes away from Jongdae. He was already so handsome with black hair, but with blond hair? He looked like would run over Sehun, and Sehun would be grateful. He just looked so different, but it was a welcome change. He could snap some photos of Jongdae under the spotlight, and people would surely believe that he was an idol.

If Sehun looked insanely handsome to Jongdae, Jongdae looked like an actual god to Sehun. Jongdae would probably express his thoughts better through song, but the vision before Sehun was too shocking that a literal god was the first image he thought of, akin to Jongdae.

Some kind of Adonis-Apollo hybrid.

Geez, Sehun won’t make it out of here.

Jongdae isn’t just blond today, he’s clad in a muscle tee, toned guns fully on display.

His brain tells him not to look at the arms Jongdae’s been hiding behind those gigantic hoodies all thsi time, but of course, he’s only human.

Look respectfully, he tells himself. “Woah, Jongdae you look—" Sehun feels like a high schooler crushing on a classmate or something, hoping his cheeks aren’t tinged with pink.

“Do you like my hair?” Jongdae runs his hand through it and actually seems shy, insecure. Sehun’s too stunned to reply, which makes Jongdae think he doesn’t look as good as his best friend told him he did. “Minseok told me to get it bleached but I didn’t think it looked good...” Jongdae sighs, and even frowns afterwards.

He was unsure about looking good? Really? Sehun is appalled. “Are you kidding me? You’re _complete_ rockstar material with this one! Haven’t you looked at yourself in the mirror. You look amazing, JD.” 

Jongdae’s cheeks turn pink. “Oh.” 

Oops.

Did Sehun come off too strong?

He likes pink on Jongdae’s cheeks, he realizes. The soft pink is an incredible contrast to his black muscle tee and golden guns.

“You look really good with glasses.” Jongdae reaches up and taps the rim, so as to not leave a fingerprint on the lens. Sehun nervously licks his lips, and it seems like Jongdae notices that too well.

This is flirting right or…

Just some bro business? Sehun couldn’t really tell, because the compliment made him feel much more better about his fashion choices, which also aided his vision today. Maybe he’ll have to thank his best friend for the pants soon enough.

Fucking shit though, why’d Sehun have to remember Chanyeol’s words right now? [his best friend called the look a “teacher i’d like to fuck look and sehun couldn’t forget ever since... call it trauma.]

Sehun’s eyes travel down Jongdae’s exposed skin along his sides. “I never knew you had tattoos. They look really cool.” They run from the side of his torso until about the bottom of his ribcage.

They make him cooler than he already is. “Thanks, Sehunnie. Inked up only by Minseokkie, of course. He’s really something else.” He praises his own best friend.

Jongdae breaks the ice and shows Sehun an event page online after they finish their usual session of listening to music—wherein Sehun tried his best not to keep staring at Jongdae. He kind of failed though, but it’s fine, because Jongdae couldn’t stop stealing glances at him either. “I’m actually performing later at the Black Pearl in a few hours. Wanna come see me?” While Sehun is still staring at the details, Jongdae suddenly squirms in place.

“Oh! I almost forgot the playlist!” Jongdae stands up after taking the earbud out, and shuffling to grab his backpack.

Fuck, Jongdae seriously did make him a playlist.

It isn’t some spotify playlist either. Not at all. It was tangible—work that required hours of thinking of and listening to songs he associated with Sehun.

Jongdae burned a goddamn CD for him, and it’s encased with the cutest cover drawn by hand, with a tiny thunderbolt. Freaking cute, and it just exuded effort. The jewel case was decorated with puffy stickers of feline musicians too. It was entirely the Jongdaeprint.

Sehun’s flexes his arm muscles so that his hands don’t tremble as he accepts the CD from Jongdae, but his brain is fried when he feels the shorter’s soft skin brush against his.

~~Sir, please let me hold your hand, he internally begs. No. Strange thoughts begone.~~

He really couldn’t function anymore, especially after he remembers how Jongdae rested his head on his shoulder at Chanyeol’s gig a few days ago. He still had dark brown hair then, and was soft and polite as ever.

It was like he was meant to be there.

It felt like he belonged there.

Especially when Jongdae did it again earlier, as Jongdae played his newest song, a collaboration with Dynamic Duo that wasn’t released yet—Nosedive. It made Sehun feel so important and worthy of living. He learns that the duo personally contacted Jongdae first, after hearing his voice from their mutual friends, one being Jongdae’s vocal coach, Ryeowook. Jongdae was ecstatic, since he’s been a fan of theirs for ages.

He was beyond ecstatic, and Jongdae thankfully observed that from Sehun’s excessive wiggling. “Thank you so much, Jongdae-ya. I’ll give it a listen before I sleep. I’ll see you in a bit, break a leg!” Sehun clutches the CD, unable to contain the rush he was feeling, and gives Jongdae an appreciative nod.

He nods back. “Figuratively, yes! Thanks, Sehunnie!” Jongdae waves his hands with fervor as he bids the taller goodbye.

Hours pass and Jongdae makes his way to the Black Pearl with Chanyeol and Minseok. Minseok was just like him, the supportive best friend attending his musician best friend’s gigs whenever he could, which was incredibly sweet. Sehun’s heart swells at the thought of Minseok regularly attending Chanyeol’s gigs now too.

He’s been to the Black Pearl a couple times for parties of his friends, but it was the usual spot for musicians who were already popular, and those trying to make a name for themselves as well. Regardless, Chanyeol forced him to specifically put on clothes which were more appropriate to wear at a bar, since his long sleeves, despite clearly getting Jongdae’s approval, wasn’t exactly the best to wear at a rock gig. Unless he wanted to look like a hot professor, as Chanyeol reiterated.

Following Chanyeol’s advice, he still kept _those_ pants on, but paired it with a simple black graphic tee under red printed short sleeves for comfort, this time. He earned another smack on the butt after Minseok arrived who mischievously said that “Jongdae would like that.” to which Sehun choked on thin air, as Minseok points at the sparkling gold chain around his neck.

Sehun’s skipped a few parties lately since he’s been burying himself with schoolwork apart from hanging out with Jongdae all the time. His uni friends are more than alright with it, after lowkey understanding why Sehun was always so red when he blabbered on about Jongdae. He was glad to have a safer safe haven now. Technically, they never really talked about it yet, but Soojung winking at him was indication enough that she subtly understood.

Hangouts with Chanyeol, Minseok, and Jongdae became a norm in the lives of the four of them, and Sehun doesn’t know a time when he felt happier than he did now. This was the first time he’d see Jongdae perform, when Minseok regularly did and Chanyeol surprisingly did too, a few times. His heart flutters wondering how much brighter Jongdae would shine on stage, when he was already so bright just regularly.

They arrived on time, and Jongdae begins with his opening song—Up rising. It’s packed in there, and Sehun wonders if he can catch a good glimpse of Jongdae from here. The crowd is already on their feet and screaming their lungs out as Jongdae pounds his fist and jumps up and down, all while performing with the acrobatic demands of each phrase’s melody. He incorporated some kind of planned yet planned choreography with a magical-looking mic stand, rending Sehun beyond impressed. Jongdae’s confident smile and the raise of his eyebrow made him feel a mixture of infatuation and admiration as he controlled the stage like it was meant for him. A fog machine and spotlights make this look like a hardcore music festival, as a mysterious violet shade diffuses with a fiery red, creating the perfect set for Jongdae to sing amidst.

The trio meticulously situate themselves in a favorable spot that wouldn’t risk their safety, but also be able to see Jongdae perfectly. Sehun whips out his phone for a bit, and takes a few videos and photos of Jongdae, before tucking it into his pocket and enjoying the music with Chanyeol and Minseok again.

Jongdae was already considerably famous in the industry despite still being in school. The crowd eating up every song he sang was enough evidence to prove that claim. It seemed like most people there knew Jongdae well, as he heard hushed whispers of people commending his new hairstyle for how even more handsome he looked with it. Sehun found himself smug at the remarks, glad that other people thought the new color suited him well. Then again, he finds that he liked Jongdae with darker hair too, but was completely enamored by the new vibe from him being blond.

The first break nears, and he wipes himself with a towel handed to him by a stage manager. After Jongdae respectfully hands it back to the manager, someone in the crowd dangerously yanks it, earning a confused yelp from Jongdae, audible to the entire crowd.

Sehun laughs at his confusion. Chanyeol wasn’t lying, he was a superstar through and through. It had only been a few minutes after he sang his first set, but he looked completely adorable and nothing like the hot rocker who stunned the entire crowd and regular patrons alike with his vocals and stage manners.

Jongdae shushes the crowd, and announces that he’ll be accepting a few questions from his fans if they behaved well. Sehun smirks, Jongdae was such a charmer and the crowd was instantly swayed by his command, as was Sehun. “Fuck, he’s seriously so hot!” A voice yells after only five seconds of silence, and Jongdae adorably covers his face with hands. Sehun can see that his ears are red, though, despite the distance between them. T

The vocalist answers a few questions about singers he wanted to collab with, and his inspiration, before another person piped up. “Hey, are you single?” They shout out loudly, hooting when he’s caught, and Jongdae turns beet red yet again. He’s flushing so brightly, the strobe lights just highlight that even more. Jongdae’s hands are on his hips as he walks over to the person who asked him about his relationship status, earning ooh’s and aah’s from the crowd due to the sudden intimidation.

Smoothly enough, he cocks a brow up and squats so that he practically teeters over the edge of the stage, driving the people lined up at the barricade insane, as they surge forward to try and touch him. Everybody just wants to touch his hand. Sehun wonders if he should’ve fought his way there so he could have a better view of Jongdae, or make sure that nobody would try anything funny with him. A pout involuntarily forms on his face as he sees some bouncers on standby to watch some violent people in the pit.

The singer then forms the cutest confused expression. “Sorry, when is my _single_ coming out? Hm... You’ll have to wait for that one a bit.” Jongdae teases and winks, making every inch of the embarrassed Jongdae just fade away. He gave the perfect diversion to talk about his music once more. The crowd loves his witty response though, as Sehun hears hearty laughs everywhere. He hears one incredibly hearty laugh from his best friend, and gives Minseok a wink. Happy Yeol always made everyone happy.

Sehun was astonished at this confidence which was just so goddamn attractive. Jongdae belonged on a stage—it seemed he knew all the right things to say. The fact that all of his words were obviously genuine just made Sehun fall in a little deeper. Sure, listening to Jongdae teaching him about music was amazing, but him performing his own music was extraordinary.

Moments later, Sehun’s own ears turned red as Chanyeol questioned his glaring the people nearby them who made suggestive comments about Jongdae. He doesn’t notice that he’s bitten his lip for such a long time, before Minseok lightly taps his shoulder, flashing a caring smile.

Tsk, couldn’t they talk about his music more, but Sehun’s wishful thinking seems to attract his friends’ attention. “Hey bro, control the RBF. Jongdae’s meeting us right after his set.” Chanyeol’s wide-eyed again as he whisks Sehun back to reality.

Sehun gasps, offended, but it just looks like a cute pout to the pair beside him. “What RBF?” He rolls his eyes at his best friend, earning an amused snort from Minseok.

Minseok chuckles and leans into Chanyeol’s personal space, slinging his finger around the taller’s torso. “You’re right, Yeollie, he’s cute. I can see why he’s a campus crush.” Chanyeol leaned into Minseok’s ear and they shared a laugh together. They looked so great together, it was disgustingly cute but Sehun felt like comments like this shouldn’t be verbalized. His mind freezes when he imagines whether or not he and Jongdae maybe look as disgusting as Chanyeol and Minseok do—crazy and pretty things love is capable of eliciting.

Sehun can’t deny his friends’ claims. “Psh.” He gives the two a sly smile. “What are you guys even doing? Scrutinizing me?” Sehun folds his arms, clearly upset that they’re teasing him.

Chanyeol squeezes Minseok’s shoulder and holds him closer. “Not at all, not at all.” The taller continues to tease him, and he and Sehun throw embarrassing anecdotes of the other to see which is worse for Minseok to handle, until a sleekly dressed waiter approaches them with a fancy cocktail glass.

The waiter scans Sehun from head to toe like he was confirming something, earning low hoots from Minseok and Chanyeol. “Sir, this is from someone at the bar.” The man informs him, and carefully puts the cold drink in Sehun’s hand. Sehun is just rigid now, while staring at the drink like it was poison or something.

No shit, was it Jongdae? Or was it from some sleazy person who was watching him dance? The thoughts creeped him out, but this wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened.

He stiffly accepts. “Oh. Uh, thanks?” Sehun clutches the glass awkwardly as his eyes maneuver their way to the counter, unable to see Jongdae sitting on a bar stool there. Before the two can resume teasing him, the waiter turns on his heel.

“Sir! I almost forgot, the lady in the black dress said to come over if you were interested.” Petty perhaps, but Sehun’s heart cracked just a little bit. So it _wasn’t_ from Jongdae. With his heart crushed a bit, he prepared to try the drink, if not for Minseok and Chanyeol’s confusion.

Obviously, Jongdae wouldn’t be able to do that when he’s been performing on stage all night, Sehun convinces himself. Minseok is seconds away from sharing a story about Jongdae, when a petite woman in a black dress approaches them. She’s slim yet curvy at the same time, and is gorgeous to say the least. Eyes follow her as she settles beside Chanyeol, Minseok’s head whips to her direction as if on command. Sehun swears he’s seen her before, but just can’t name who she is. Maybe they were from the same uni?

Her smile borders on something more than friendly, and Sehun isn’t sure if he wants to entertain that. “Chanyeol! When were you going to introduce me to your friend!” She squeezes his wrist, and Chanyeol looks alarmed as fuck as he nervously chuckles and greets her. So they were friends? She wanted to know about him too, hence the drink.

Sehun side-eyes Minseok for help, who is alarmed too. “Oh, Seungwan, hey! Had no idea you were here.” Chanyeol is freaking out inside, but he isn’t letting others know about this at all, save for a few hearty (but incredibly nervous) chuckles. Minseok and Sehun try to remain composed as Seungwan and Chanyeol casually talk, before he introduces her to them.

Oddly enough, Sehun feels like he’s being watched, but is too afraid to turn around. It might be unwanted attention after all.

Minutes of Sehun awkwardly responding to Seungwan’s basic questions pass, and he really feels like someone’s burning holes through his back.

“Sehun, do you wanna dance?” She finally asks, hair cascading flawlessly down her frame like she’s at a goddamn photoshoot, and Sehun doesn’t normally turn people down because he’s Nice but he can only really think about Jongdae. Then again, the people who have guts to ask him to dance are usually already in his circle anyway. He’s never met her before. He can only think about how badly he wants to dance with Jongdae, so what if he lost the one and only chance he possibly had to dance with Jongdae? He couldn’t say anything coherent for some reason, as Chanyeol and Minseok shared glances, wondering why it took him such a long time to respond.

His thoughts are confirmed when he finally sees Jongdae.

“By all means!” Jongdae’s presence is made known as he cheerfully motions to Sehun, earning a “what the fuck” look from Minseok and Chanyeol.

Even Sehun looks at him weirdly, earning a confused stare from Jongdae.

Seeing everything unfurl before her, Seungwan is confused as well.

The singer rests his elbow on Sehun’s shoulder as Seungwan stares at them both. “Err, well if he wants to, that is.” Jongdae suddenly saves himself, and looks back at Sehun who breathes a sigh of relief.

The taller closes his eyes before willing himself to reject her offer. “You’re really pretty and nice,” Sehun flushes, unable to continue from the unwanted stares. He doesn’t want to lie and lead her on, especially when her goal is clear, and Sehun doesn’t think he can satisfy that. Scratch that, he _doesn’t_ want to. Besides, with her warm and outgoing personality, she could effortlessly find a better connection.

He doesn’t know how to be frank, but Seungwan just smiles after she takes a sip of her own drink. “But you’re not interested? It’s okay, I swear. You’re nice too.” Seungwan finishes for him, even genuinely smiling as she excuses herself from the group, getting lost in the sea of bodies on the dancefloor. The four men stare at each other in disbelief.

They get to sit at a fancier area with a roomy lounge, once Sehun recovers from what just happened. “Okay, that was crazy.” Sehun downs the cocktail in one go, and the other three are still staring at him like he’s a madman. He’s thankful she was nice, and wishes more people could be like her. Being approached creepily when you just wanted to dance and have fun wasn’t so satisfactory.

Chanyeol claps slowly and congratulates Sehun for finally learning how to reject the very few (and very brave) girls who asked him to dance. His face turns pink because of the compliment, not the alcohol. Its color deepens as he feels Jongdae’s hand running along his back. “Hun, sorry I said yes on your behalf… Thought she was your type.” He says, scratching his head in confusion.

“It’s alright.” Sehun responds, until he finally makes sense of the words. Wait, what? Did Jongdae think he was _straight_ or something? Technically, he thought that too, but that was long ago, now that he thinks about it. The realization of Jongdae’s implications has him freaking out, until he’s hyperaware of singer’s hand around his forearm.

Managing to evade people accosting him and elbowing others for a photograph after entertaining nice fans, the rockstar doesn’t let this moment go to waste. “Let’s dance?” Jongdae says the words Sehun had wanted to hear from him the most, and the taller is ecstatic under the strobe lights.

He agrees in a heartbeat, and Minseok and Chanyeol share knowing glances, as they see Sehun flushing beet-red under the harsh strobe lights.

Some random song starts playing as they’re both on the dance floor and Sehun jives to the rhythm, body waving and swaying—he’s practically freestyling to what he hears, and he’s attracting a bunch of onlookers on his own, who don’t realize that Jongdae is there too. The song ends and Sehun opens his eyes after losing himself a bit and distressing with the dance. He flushes when he sees Jongdae look him up from head to toe with a satisfied smile.

“I can’t dance for shit, it’s just fun. But you, wow. That’s some pro-level stuff.” Jongdae’s voice is deeper and huskier than usual, maybe it’s from his exhaustion earlier. Sehun sheepishly smiles as he doesn’t realize that he pretty much just danced in front of Jongdae for three entire minutes.

He can’t believe he forgot to tell Jongdae about this. “Used to be in a dance group in high school.” Sehun suddenly stops, embarrassed but flattered at the same time because of Jongdae’s reaction.

Jongdae nods, admitting that he this just fueled his expectations of Sehun to be involved with performing arts even more, because his critique and opinions regarding art and choreography in music videos were always so tasteful and well thought of. “A model and a dancer. Tell me something you can’t do, Sehunnie.” The singer makes him turn pink. It’s unfair how they just watched Jongdae be in his element, but Sehun was getting all the praise from the singer, he thought.

Moments later, something spiked in Sehun the moment he heard What a Life, certainly one of his favorite party songs. The beginning notes always reminded him of drinks being poured, and boy, that made him really excited. It just had the ability to destress Sehun for some reason, and upon hearing the chorus, he finally lets loose. If he thought he went crazy with that song earlier, he and Jongdae were berserk now, but maybe it was because they both had a few swigs of concoctions.

Of course, the alcohol in his system ends up momentarily making him forget that Jongdae is _right there._ Jongdae’s hands brush against his biceps, and he’s suddenly hyperaware of the warmth they radiate. They bust out some moves together, with Jongdae following Sehun’s basic moves while Jongdae shows his own repertoire of the stupidest and dumbest dances, including the backpack kid dance he demonstrates at varying speeds, which has Sehun giggling at high pitches and volumes. Far away, their best friends record the moment, murmuring that the two _look_ like a couple while throwing adorable punches at the air to the beat of the song. Jongdae is enjoying this so much, evident by his high-pitched giggles while fooling around with Sehun.

Sehun busts out some freestyling to the chorus, accompanied by some popping and locking, along with numerous waves transitioning to the next moves smoothly. Soon enough, even more people around him notice, and begin to hype him up. He doesn’t just _feel_ like he’s hot shit, everyone else knows that he is. With a “yeah, uh” signifying the second verse, his legs nearly turn to jelly as he bows, camera flashes in his face from other patrons who seemed impressed. Turns out, some of his university acquaintances were there too, but didn’t bother him for some reason.

The tall guy is jolted back to his senses as he feels a warm hand slap his back. “You were phenomenal, Oh Sehun! Y’know that, right?” An arm curls around his neck, and the timbre of the speaker only indicates one thing—it’s Jongdae. Sehun’s heart hammers against of everything happening, how dangerously close Jongdae is to him, and how their breaths lightly kissed by alcohol were fanning hotly against the other’s face.

Oh. If Sehun’s associations were right, Jongdae was cheering for him the entire time he danced. The “Oh Sehun! Oh Sehun! Oh Sehun!” was unmistakably chanted by his voice, projected so loudly when he wanted to, even more so when he wanted to support his friends.

“Thanks, hehe.” Sehun giggles obnoxiously as boosted by the drink, and so does Jongdae, who abruptly drags him to sits down on a crushed red velvet love seat nearby, legs spread apart so widely as he motions for Sehun to sit on his—

Sehun’s eyes widen as he shakes his head repeatedly to clear his sight. Jongdae wasn’t pointing at his _lap_ , right? Did the drinks blur his vision too? That was nearly impossible since his tolerance made everyone jealous too.

He made his way to Jongdae and squinted, calming down after realizing that Jongdae had gestured for him to sit beside him, or on the armrest. Even when he’s pumped from the alcohol, Sehun still manages to get flustered.

Technically, it is right for him to be flustered right now though, because after minutes of talking, some nerve rose up in him and decided to say Fuck the Armrest. As a result, Jongdae and Sehun were practically squished together in the loveseat, with Jongdae’s thigh on Sehun’s, as the taller lazily leaned on Jongdae’s shoulder.

Sehun motions to a bartender to fetch him a drink, and he takes a small sip of another cocktail given to him. He has no idea what it is, but the citrus taste after the harsh bitterness from the liquid wasn’t too pleasant. Sure the booze was good, but that fruit flavoring tasted like medicine. Jongdae coos at him when he does that, offering to finish the rest of the drink for him. The taller gladly obliges, not wanting to waste Chanyeol’s money, when it was all going to his tab. The man before him easily gulps the entire glass down, and it’s official—his pink satin jacket was hanging onto Jongdae’s shoulders for dear life as it threatened to show Jongdae’s toned arms on full display. When that happened, Sehun could appreciate the tattoos on his torso that he’d been catching flashes of all night.

Suddenly, a sensual and trendy song started playing, and Jongdae didn’t hesitate to get back on the dancefloor, bringing a willing Sehun with him with viciously seductive gaze deepened by the black sharpness lining his eyes. He doesn’t know what possessed Jongdae to lick his lips and smoothly wave his body to the music, his silk bomber jacket falling off his shoulders, sinfully revealing his biceps. Jongdae said he couldn’t dance earlier, but his waves were so seamless, flowing with effortless sensuality. The shirt Jongdae was wearing was something else. Sehun could quite literally, see everything underneath it. He gulps thickly as there was literally nothing left to the imagination. As he expected, Jongdae was well-muscled.

After dancing together for a bit, Sehun knew it was unintentional, but he hoped it wasn’t. What was it? Their bodies kept making soft contact, limbs brushing up against one another, and when that happened, Jongdae didn’t ever push him off in disdain.

Was that just Jongdae dancing normally? Or not? Gosh Sehun, this wasn’t some choo-choo train game type of shit, like earlier when they imitated each other’s moves. Maybe Jongdae was moving like that because he liked you back. Sehun had to get this in his system, or else he’d be losing a valuable chance.

Like Jongdae heard his thoughts, the smaller spun around to face him, and simply rested both of his hands on Sehun’s broad shoulders as the song with the slowest tempo of the night met their ears. The liquid courage helped Sehun let his hands eventually settle on Jongdae’s waist. Speaking of the singer’s waist, it was incredibly slender and fit perfectly as Sehun’s hands became accustomed to their shape. They rode the rhythm of the song together, slowly moving in a way they were both comfortable with. Suddenly, there isn’t any space in between their fronts, and Sehun doesn’t even remember how this happened. All he knows is they’re both touching each other with so much familiarity and curiosity as Jongdae’s fingers on him feel like he’s been struck by lightning. Jongdae rolls his hips and Sehun’s breath nearly hitches from that alone, grip on Jongdae stronger as ever as his other hand cups the back of Jongdae’s neck, who looks up at him with bright eyes.

It felt surreal, and it was too hot, to top it all off. In terms of the temperature, and the situation, yes.

Sehun felt himself lean down towards Jongdae’s lips—it was always those lips. He didn’t even realize he initiated this—it all felt like he needed to, like he was magnetized. Everything was unfurling before them like they were in a movie; heartbeats starting to beat faster than ever together.

Jongdae’s eyelashes flutter as he stares at Sehun’s own lips, gaze hungrier as Sehun involuntarily wets them with his tongue both from arousal and nervousness.

It felt like nobody was around them, and it was slightly true, yes. Everyone was absorbed in their own world, and Sehun was glad about not having to be afraid about other people watching him, even when he wondered why this was worth being afraid of…

This was it, they both clearly wanted it and they’re millimeters away from-

They broke apart because of an all too familiar cry for help. “Sehun-ah, help me! Chanyeol said it was his first time losing beer pong, and he’s shitfaced!” A distressed voice yells out.

The two distance themselves from each other, both red-faced, and thankfully, Minseok didn’t really see what they were doing because he was busy lugging the giant around. Sehun shakes his head back to reality, and doesn’t hesitate to hold Chanyeol up instead. “And sad as fuck!” The giant groans as Sehun calls him a little shit, lovingly of course.

Nice one, Minseok. Excellent job walking backwards to the duo, or else he would’ve seen _everything_.

The night finally seems like it’s ending as the three men leave and help Chanyeol walk, even though their own heads were still mildly buzzing. It was subtle compared to what Chanyeol was feeling, though. Sehun can’t even process what just happened, or what almost happened. Jongdae was weirdly quiet after Minseok came back, but still talked to Sehun a bit.

Sehun sighed, still reeling from what could’ve happened earlier with Jongdae. “I’m sorry I was afraid to warn you about how he’s a terrible drunk.” He takes Chanyeol once more and heaves, slinging his best friend’s arm around his neck, in his drunken state. Minseok isn’t bothered by drunk Chanyeol at all, seeing the way how he’s helping Jongdae fix himself up. Well, Minseok _is_ pretty lucky, because the giant didn’t throw up on him. Sehun smirks at the shameful memory, and the two smaller men share quizzical looks at him.

He thanks his best friend’s boyfriend? Almost boyfriend? “But thanks for watching out for him, seriously, hyung.” Minseok pats Jongdae, and then pats Sehun, an affectionate action telling him it was no big deal.

“Of course. It’s nothing. Thanks for taking care of JD.” Minseok winks at him and _then_ looks at Jongdae. Sehun can’t help but feel so tiny, it’s almost like Minseok was encouraging him to make a move on his best friend. Hahaha, unless…

Sehun is too tired to notice Jongdae blushing as he leaves. “See you soon! We can rest anyway since it’s the weekend! Rest a lot!” Sehun finally bids them farewell, slowly helping Chanyeol walk.

“Get Chanyeol home in one piece!” Jongdae yells even when they’re quite far away from each other now, making both Sehun and Chanyeol turn around.

Chanyeol stops cooperating with Sehun as he attempts to stand firmly, grinning in delight. “You like that anime too, JD? What the fuck? Told ya he was a keeper, Sehunnie!” Chanyeol won’t stop running his mouth as he laughs loudly enough to attract attention from all the bystanders, and Sehun prays that Jongdae can’t decipher his slurred speech, kneeing Chanyeol’s thigh while playfully trying to kick him to sobriety.

Sehun was ready to clamp his hand down on Chanyeol’s mouth, in case he would run his mouth off about Jongdae again. He was so desperate to contain that, he wouldn’t mind if Chanyeol let something else other than words out of his mouth, and he had to hold it for him.

It was bad enough trying to be normal around Jongdae—it’d be even worse if he found out about Sehun’s feelings through someone else.

The duo finally made it home, sneakily entering their dorms. Chanyeol didn’t cause a ruckus despite his heavy steps, because guess what: nearly everyone in their dorm house was still out because most people went to the Black Pearl too, or some other bar.

Chanyeol starts to whine after Sehun forces him to brush his teeth and change into his pajamas, when Sehun’s phone vibrates.

_From: JD :3 [2:05 AM]_

_Hope u and yeol got home safely. Thanks for watching me even though i only told u about the gig last minute <__> hehehehehehehejdjdjjdjdjjd_

JD was still awake?

After checking if Chanyeol didn’t choke on toothpaste, he finally guided Chanyeol to his bed, and got ready for bed himself. “Hey, please tuck me in.” Chanyeol mumbles as Sehun puts a thick hoodie on, only to see his best friend rolling around on his bed in a way that makes him question how he hasn’t fallen off yet.

He does exactly that, and sighs as he finally turns the lamp on, squinting as he’s blinded by his bright phone screen.

_To: JD :3 [2:20 AM]_

_yes we did! thanks for asking, hope you guys did too. i’d Love to see u perform again, it was gr9_

They exchanged a few more texts, but Jongdae didn’t even speak of that dance at all. Not even once. So did Jongdae forget, or was it seriously something friends normally did together for him?

_From: JD :3 [2:23 AM]_

_can’t believe our dance battle was cut short XD definitely gonna have to show you my real moves next time_

Jongdae must’ve remembered somehow, if he still had the capacity to send cohesive texts. He had better moves than those? The wilder question was: was it just some comical dance battle to him?

Was Sehun the only one panicking between the two of them, because of the sudden contact which made him feel all warm and tingly?

Also wait, did Jongdae really just “XD” in 2020? Sehun’s eyes widen at the realization that the smaller boy also dabbed when a remix of Baby Shark was accidentally played by the DJ. For some reason, he wasn’t bothered at all. It was endearing, even. Sehun sighs as Chanyeol’s soft snoring filled the room. He must’ve _really_ liked Jongdae to find all of his actions cute as fuck, even when other people were scared of his Intimidating Rockstar and Legendary Singer brand.

_To: JD :3 [2:27 AM]_

_ok dae, im looking forward to ur other variations of dabbing :p_

_From: JD :3 [2:28 AM]_

_< Audio Message 0:03>_

Sehun is shocked. Jongdae’s never sent recordings of himself speaking to Sehun so spontaneously.

He presses play and hears an audible gasp, which is followed by: “And you say that like it’s a bad thing! I’ll have you know, I look _so_ much cuter than usual when I do that!” Sehun can tell that Jongdae is sober, but he’s also undeniably hyper.

He can’t wipe off the involuntary grin plastered on his face. Jongdae doesn’t sound completely sober though. He’s probably just extra hyper right now. They both knew their alcohol tolerance was incredibly high after hanging out frequently, they were both really just unusually hyper of course. Sehun would love to see it.

“Yeah, you do look a bit cuter when you do stupid shit.” Sehun mutters to himself after he’s reminded of Jongdae gleefully imitating his dance moves earlier, unable to hatch a clever reply. Jongdae was so pure when he was doing all of that earlier, and the smile on his face only told Sehun that he was having the time of his life.

_To: JD :3 [2:30 AM]_

_we ALL know who’d win though ;D_

_From: JD :3 [2:31 AM]_

_< Image>_

_From: JD :3 [2:31 AM]_

_YES . and it’s ME . JD_

Sehun sees a selfie of Jongdae looking mad, but can only focus on his furrowed brows that are so distinct and expressive, they could belong to a cartoon character. A millisecond later, he realizes that Jongdae’s pouting, and his lips look so goddamn pink and _perfect_ , among so many other words Sehun could use to describe them. He gulps down the bitterness of reality again when he recalls that he almost had those lips against his own earlier. Jongdae was wearing another gigantic hoodie, a bright yellow with a tiny pokeball on it that made him look like a tiny ball of sunshine, but that was a complete contrast to his expression that just _screamed_ temptation to Sehun.

He shakes himself back to his senses and resists the urge to save the photo, because that’d be creepy, right? Unless he used it as a meme to retaliate Jongdae’s arguments when he’d be sober again.

An idea strikes him, and he stands in front of a mirror, turning the lamp on his nightstand on, to snap a quick selfie. Sehun doesn’t notice how he does this so quickly without caring about whether he looks nice or not, but he rolls his eyes in the photo, and hits send after nearly guffawing at his own message.

_To: JD :3 [2:37 AM]_

_< Image>_

_dream on, dae xoxo ^___^_

_From: JD :3 [2:41 AM]_

_cute sehunnie even though he’s a brat. jd sleepy bleep bloop good night ;3jnfsksajlkfmsjdnfaj_

_To: JD :3 [2:42 AM]_

_good night, jd sleepy ^___^_

Sehun assumed the rockstar was already asleep. He looked at the mirror, and saw his cheeks painted with pink. Was it from the drinking or Jongdae calling him cute? Or was it from being set a photo of the pouty lips he’d wanted to kiss so badly earlier?

It was nearly 3 AM but Sehun still hadn’t gotten up to doing the one thing he’d been itching to do all night—listen to the playlist Jongdae made for him.

He decided he’d listen to it after checking up on Chanyeol in bed again, and listen to it while he’s snuggled up in his own bed. He puts the disc in his wall mounted player, but makes sure to connect it through his phone, so that he wouldn’t be disturbing Chanyeol, and would listen through his trusty earphones.

These were all good subtle???

Lowkey???

Not so lowkey???

Love songs, all from various genres.

Sehun decides that Jongdae’s taste is impeccable.

He wonders too, though.

Were they all just good songs for Jongdae, or were the lyrics supposed to convey something from him to Jongdae?

Only a few of the many striking lines remained in Sehun’s head as he drifted off to sleep with the R&B grooves in the latter part of the playlist, but he could feel Jongdae’s sincerity in each selection carefully added to the playlist which consisted of nearly a hundred songs.

~

<when everything’s made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am> iris, the goo goo dolls

<share that beat of love> rock with you, michael jackson

<you electrify my life> muse, starlight

<there are many things I would like to say to you, but I don’t know how> oasis, wonderwall

<you can make me do just any old thing and I love it> faces; you can make me dance, sing or anything

<you could try to get closer to me> def leppard, hysteria

~

Staring at the ceiling while wrapped in a bundle of heat to fight the chilling cold, Sehun reaffirms his feelings as his eyelids droop down, begging for rest.

He places his palm on his chest, and feels his heart beating like there’s no tomorrow.

He _likes_ Jongdae.

The following day, things are back to normal and neither one of them gets brave enough to bring up their almost kiss, and more importantly, the playlist. A week later, they all watch Chanyeol’s gig at a fancy bar, and when Chanyeol comes back, he’s shocked to see Minseok point out Sehun and Jongdae who look a little too cuddly on a couch in a secluded area. There were no almost kisses that night—Jongdae literally kissed Sehun’s jawline and the taller just stroked his back when he was planted on his lap the entire night.

The sight was cute though, but again, even if they both remembered it days and weeks later, nobody brought the topic up in fear of blundering.

_From: JD :3_

_Sehunnie, sorry I couldn’t approach u earlier, unless i was seeing things for a bit... why didn’t u come in <__> boss got mad at me for something Another Guy did _ _☹_ _._

So that explains why Jongdae looked pissed—he almost thought Jongdae stared at _him_ badly when he peeped through the storefront. During one of the times only he and Minseok hung out together, he found out that Jongdae was so kind, he rarely got mad. He must’ve felt really bad to tell Sehun it upset him.

Sehun’s thankful he managed to be cheery thought, at least through text. The punk e-boy uses soft emojis when sending Sehun messages and that drives him crazy. What drives Jongdae crazy is how he’s sending all of these texts that pretty much break all of his rules, aka: don’t expect anything from indirect messages.

Chanyeol and Sehun finally get to see Minseok’s tattoo studio a few days later, and Minseok is absolutely in love with his craft. Minseok is so focused in inking Jongdae, that he doesn’t notice the two enter the shop.

A voice calls out, but Sehun can’t see anyone other than Minseok and JD in the studio, maybe it was an assistant behind them or inside another room? “That’s a sick tattoo. A tiny one amidst those other monstrous bastards. I love it!” Sehun squints from the distance he was at, and sees a small thunderbolt under Jongdae’s left collarbone.

“You’ve wanted this for ages. You’re lucky Minseok always makes time for you.” A man taller than both Chanyeol and Sehun hovers over Jongdae, eyeing his collarbone. The man is taller than both Sehun and Chanyeol and speaks with a kind of confidence Sehun’s only felt now. His features are delicate, yet defined at the same time, and he certainly looks like he’s involved in some type of artistic industry too, judging by his appealing outfit.

Jongdae looks up at him and laughs, squeezing the man’s exposed forearm, and initiates a conversation with him, which has the man in stitches.

Sehun can’t see or hear too well.

Besides, he doesn’t even _want_ to look anymore, but they look…

Friendly, for sure.

Maybe a bit too friendly, because it gets under Sehun’s skin, even when he knows he shouldn’t be feeling that way.

Chanyeol approaches, and compliments Minseok’s work, surprising the stranger, and Jongdae alike. “Yeol! You came!”

Jongdae stands up, literally half-naked as he motions to the man. “Fanfan has been a friend of mine since high school. He actually moved back to China, but flies back occasionally. Because he’s a star who misses his best friends.”

‘Fanfan’ turns red at the playful compliment and bows. “I’m Wu Yifan. You can call me Kris. You’re Loey, right?” The man offers his hand and shakes Chanyeol’s firmly. Sehun is shocked by how Kris practically towering Chanyeol, and also by the fondness dripping from Jongdae’s eyes as he looks at Kris.

Chanyeol is taken aback, wondering how Kris knows him. Sehun is confused too, especially since Kris addressed him by his producer name.

“Yeah, I am. How do you—”

The Kris guy flashes a gummy rectangular smile. “Jongdae sent me some of your demos a few weeks ago. He won’t shut up about you. I listened to them with my friend, Jony J at the studio and he absolutely loved—”

Sehun had no idea about this, and is pleasantly surprised. “What? JD booked me _that_ job? Oh my god! That’s just… Wow.” Chanyeol’s frozen in disbelief, and Sehun just stares as Kris continues to praise Chanyeol.

Kris seemed so nice. Sehun had no reason to hate him, but here he was feeling jealous. It made him feel even worse, when Kris was nice to him too. He hated this feeling, uncontrollably disliking Kris when he didn’t want to at all. All of them continue to talk as Sehun nearly spaces out, but suddenly, Kris gets a call and has to leave.

Before leaving, he pokes Minseok and Jongdae’s cheeks. “Bye, Baozi! Bye, Chéngzi Chen Chen!” Yifan puts on a cap and makes his way out, leaving. He shakes Sehun’s hand, and Chanyeol’s as well. Sehun puts on his prettiest smile as he respectfully wishes Yifan a safe journey back home. He actually enjoyed chatting with Yifan, but he was still honestly so intimidated.

“Hǎo!” Jongdae’s grinning from ear to ear so hardly, his eyes become crescents. Sehun tries his best not to look at Jongdae, who’s still shirtless in all his glory. It would be a good time to ask about Jongdae’s tattoos, but he’s flustered with the idea of the singer’s possible quips when he realizes that he’s being ogled at. “A whole baby. Fanfan’s still a baby.” Jongdae laughs brightly, reminiscing about his high school life with Minseok, as Chanyeol prepares to get his tattoo. He and Minseok converse lightly in Mandarin for barely a minute until Chanyeol hugs Minseok from behind. Jongdae coughs. “Definitely is. A huge one at that.” Minseok shares, and Chanyeol squeezes his body even tighter. Sehun fake coughs at his best friend’s attempt to soothe his jealousy. The look on his face proved that. Minseok turns to face Chanyeol and hugs him with his arms with muscles which are even more rippled than Jongdae’s. “Yeol looks like a giant baby too.” He laughs, and Chanyeol is beyond pleased at the attention. Chanyeol and Minseok continue to be lovey dovey, but all Sehun can think about was Kris and Jongdae. They had nicknames for each other too, and conversed in another language like it was a second skin. Their bond is definitely stronger, but he wonders if they ever liked each other. Jongdae is somewhere out in the back fixing himself up before joining the three. Sehun just stands there awkwardly, appreciating a wall full of Minseok’s photos with celebrity clients, until Minseok notices and makes him sit down on a rather comfy couch in his tattoo studio. Jongdae is still busy, but he’s hovering over Chanyeol now, teasing him over his choice—a monkey. Chanyeol playfully shoves Jongdae, pushing his stomach as he takes a few steps back, and Minseok defends the choice by providing Chanyeol’s explanation. Minseok comes back from washing his hands and meticulously drying them. “Well, Yeol’s birth year was the Year of the Monkey, y’know, people born in the Year of the Monkey are known to be friendly and active. That’s pretty much him summed up in two words.” Sehun agrees, and Jongdae holds up his hands in mock defeat, but still giggles. He stops when he sees Minseok’s sketch though. It’s a _lot_ cooler than he expected it to look like. Sehun ends up gasping too. Maybe he could get a tattoo eventually too, if he wouldn’t chicken out, somehow. “Oh wait.” Jongdae smirks deviously, Sehun can only see his side profile, but he still looks charming as ever. Jongdae taps Chanyeol’s wrist repeatedly as the giant panics. “People born in that year are said to be good with their hands too.” Jongdae wiggles his brows, obviously pushing the innuendo he just made. No matter how cool Minseok is, his cheeks immediately redden as he hears Jongdae’s words. Chanyeol looks like a complete mess too, leaving Jongdae and Sehun confused. Had they tried anything? Sehun didn’t even want to _think_ about it. The four of them just keep looking at each other like they’re in a sitcom or something, and they refuse to recognize the punchline. Adjusting the barrel of the tattoo gun, Minseok cocks a thick brow up at Jongdae, as if to funnily provoke him. “Yeah, you aren’t wrong.” Minseok finally agrees with conviction, making the other three men stare at each other in absolute terror. Chanyeol nearly melts in the seat, before he has the hugest lopsided smile on his face. “What were you bastards thinking of? I play the piano, guitar, _and_ the drums.” Chanyeol brags about himself a bit as the needle finally works its way towards his skin. He’s practically numb to the pain though, since he’s gotten multiple tattoos. Minseok winks at Sehun and Jongdae respectively before agreeing and calling Jongdae childish. His best friend tries to save face, but even now, Sehun’s face becomes red upon realizing that they must’ve _done_ stuff already. Great, now he would never be able to remove that from his imagination. “Yeah, yeah. Off with whatever you two bastards have been up to.” Jongdae doesn’t stop teasing him as the four of them listen to the buzz of the needle against Yeol’s skin. Sehun can’t stop fiddling with his pockets as he tries not to look at a shirtless Jongdae. Minseok looks up at Jongdae and wets his lips, before staring at Sehun straight in the eye, making him panic nonstop. “So, Sehun. How are _Jongdae’s_ hands?” Jongdae’s best friend attacked back perfectly. Jongdae finds himself at a loss for words, for once. “Huh?” Both Sehun and Jongdae nearly yell at the same time, as Minseok and Chanyeol enjoy the show. “Like I said,” Minseok seems satisfied as he talks to Chanyeol, and Jongdae finally retreats to the couch with a soft thud, sitting a few inches away from Sehun. Sehun is jolted when Jongdae’s hand is on his knee, asking how his day has been. He tries to focus, but feels warmer and warmer as he _feels_ the contact. “I’m alright, I guess.” He lies, and Jongdae tentatively buys it, but his glance seriously questions Sehun’s honesty. Jongdae keeps his hands to himself after thinking that he might’ve made Sehun uncomfortable with the sudden touch. “Well, it’s fine if you’re not. And you know you can talk to me about anything if you aren’t.” Jongdae shares his sentiments like a breath of fresh air, and Sehun’s heart clenches at how sweet this guy was. His words just made Sehun feel even worse for being jealous. They continue to talk like that, a few inches away from each other, not like how they were at the bar, or at Chanyeol’s gig, but it still manages to be enough. Unexpectedly, Jongdae stands up and asks to be excused. Jongdae has to leave early because he still has to go to vocal lessons, which was a complete shocker to Sehun because he sounded like he’d learned enough from uni. Apart from that, he just got a goddamn tattoo. Sehun barely knew about the aftercare but he wondered if it’d be better for Jongdae to just go home early. He keeps his thoughts to himself as Jongdae humbly steps out of the studio when Minseok says he’s working too much for someone who already has so much on his plate. The three of them were left in the tattoo studio as Chanyeol snuggled up to Minseok on the other couch. Oh, to be a cursed third wheel. Sehun was scrolling through random apps in his phone to distract himself when Minseok asked what he wanted to eat. Minseok ordered takeout for them, and as Sehun shoved the mouthwatering dumplings in his mouth, Chanyeol started talking about Kris again for some reason. The topic earned a grumpy grunt from Sehun, whose eyebrows could never conceal the fact that he was getting increasingly annoyed each time his best friend mentioned the guy who was all over Jongdae earlier. After swallowing a hefty amount of soft rice, he decides to find out more about Kris. “How’d you guys meet anyway?” Sehun finally asks, trying to maintain his composure and seem cool with everything. Minseok seems to be pleased that he asked. “Ah… We were best friends in high school. Yifan was a transferee from Vancouver and we just all hit it off since Jongdae and I had been learning Mandarin for a couple years, since it was our elective. And Fanfan… He used to be all lanky in high school, but still good-looking, no doubt.” As he reminisces, he attempts to stifle his laughter. “He had the _biggest_ crush on Jongdae, but never confessed all the while. JD was too dense to realize, of course.” Minseok quickly takes another bite when he pauses.” Reasonable though, since we were teens then.” He finishes and startles Chanyeol who drops his chopsticks, and picks them up in a clumsy attempt. “Wha—” Sehun seemed as taken aback as Chanyeol was, and his best friend stared at him with an intense gaze. Sehun and Chanyeol are shown some photos of the trio during their high school days, and Sehun scoffs at how atrocious Jongdae’s hair was for the entirety of a year, Chanyeol guffaws when they find out it’s because Jongdae agreed to be his friend’s guinea pig. Said friend was an aspiring hairstylist, while Jongdae was just really kind ever since. ]“He went back to China then Vancouver for university and became a bigshot just like that. He stayed humble and never forgot us though. Guy looks cold, but he’s _so_ much nicer than he seems to be.” Minseok convinces them. “He’s a gentle giant, I swear. Don’t be fooled by how chic he seems to be.” Chanyeol lets out an understanding hum, as he puts his last dumpling on Sehun’s plate. His best friend silently thanks him for the kind gesture. Sehun begins to pick at his food as Minseok and Chanyeol continue to converse, because he can’t wrap his head around everything he just heard. Minseok notices Sehun, and looks extremely apologetic when he sees the younger pouting. “Hey. Don’t worry though, Sehunnie. I’m rooting for you.” Minseok pats Sehun on the back, and he only feels slightly comforted. The guy seemed pretty successful already, considering how his connections helped him give Chanyeol a good deal. Sehun started feeling even more bad for disliking him despite his politeness, because he couldn’t help but be jealous. No matter how much he tried to bury the thought, it just came back up to him again and again as he heard Chanyeol and Minseok’s soft murmurs. The tattooist slightly leans in towards Sehun’s direction, and whispers audibly enough for Sehun and Chanyeol to hear. “And it seems like Jongdae silently is, too.” Sehun is literally dumbfounded as he hears Minseok’s words. Chanyeol’s reaction isn’t telling at all. It seems like he knew, too. Somehow. Okay, what? For real? That was finally it, he realizes as Minseok cleans up the table and drives Chanyeol and Sehun back to their dorm since it was getting late. Even Minseok gave him the goal signal, so why was he always overthinking uncontrollably? Despite the words of encouragement and reassurance from his friends, the memories of seeing Jongdae giggle with Kris kept him up all night, tossing and turning under the sheets. Sehun doesn’t know why, but the complete silence in the room made him feel vulnerable. He went to the bathroom stealthily, in an attempt not to wake Chanyeol up, and splashes some water on his face, as he finally notices some tears fall down his face. “Aw, fuck.” He mentally curses as he recalled how Jongdae just sat beside him after teasing Minseok and Chanyeol, like it was nothing. He tries to ignore how Jongdae’s hand rested on his knee for a while. He tries to ignore how he felt like he was on fire from that one touch. Jongdae acted normally after the entire thing with Kris, so Sehun finds himself deep in thought. His imagination suddenly blurring Minseok’s words from earlier, he wonders if Jongdae ever seriously considered wanting to be with him. Then he remembers the crowd that was practically in love with him at his gig—did Sehun even stand a chance when he’s hidden his infatuation for this long? What if Jongdae did like him, but just backed off because Sehun couldn’t be forward? 

The endless possibilities his nervousness continued to provide didn’t help him at all as he thought that he might’ve ruined things. “Oh Sehun, you fucking clown. What did you expect? What if JD didn’t even want to be single, with the way that Kris guy was all over him. What did you expect from that goddamn playlist? He was probably just being nice.” Sehun splashes more water onto his face, adamant about how its coolness wets its way to the front of his shirt messily. He hates how his brain is feeding all these impossible situations, when his heart knew that he had a good chance at being with Jongdae, if he did feel the same. He just had to calm down and drown out all those deluded thoughts that would never manifest in reality anyway.

Minseok and Chanyeol’s words did help him momentarily, but the sight of Jongdae with Yifan earlier made him feel like he wasn’t enough, for some reason. Even though Minseok said the circumstances were incomparable and that he shouldn’t worry at all, he couldn’t help but do exactly that.

If Yifan still liked Jongdae all this time and was smoking hot and confident now, would it be easy for him to sweep Jongdae off his feet if he tried to?

He groans as he roughly dries himself up with his towel, uncaring for the slight sting it accounts for on his face.

Is he stupid for still wanting to see Jongdae?

He seriously doesn’t want to ruin things even more because of his stupid assumptions that only crush his ego.

He doesn’t want to confess unless he’s certain that his feelings were reciprocated because the only thing more heartbreaking than fear was rejection. Sehun wouldn’t be able to go on being Jongdae’s friend knowing that he embarrassed himself in front of him once.

The next day, he accidentally ends up sleeping in, only to wake up to a message from Jongdae. With difficulty, he ended up sleeping at around 5 in the morning, and woke up way past lunchtime. Chanyeol left him some kimchi pasta, thankfully, but his head is still reeling from the weight of all of his thoughts last night. He was too groggy to pick up the yellow sticky note on their mirror and read it, and decided to freshen up.

That was until he saw characters on his screen with familiar curled lips.

_From: JD :3 [3:07 PM]_

_thought you’d pass by earlier :( asked to get off early, thought we could eat together at the street fest_

Oh fuck, how the turns have motherfucking tabled.

Also, how the fuck did Sehun forget about their plans today? He’d been looking forward to this for weeks. Jongdae must’ve felt upset. Wait, now that Sehun thinks about it, he remembers that Jongdae did faintly remind him about it last night. He didn’t really listen though, because he was having an existential crisis because of Yifan. He realizes that he didn’t listen when Minseok and Chanyeol warned him not to be late multiple times, and slaps himself on the face out of annoyance at himself.

Unbeknownst to Sehun, Jongdae regretted sending the message the moment after his finger touches the screen. God, he’s probably making a huge fool of himself in front of Sehun. Why couldn’t he read between the lines? It was so obvious Sehun wasn’t interested, with the way he hesitated around Chanyeol’s friend, and how he completely just bailed out on their plans today.

Jongdae was a lot more upset than he ever imagined he could be, but why couldn’t he be? He’d planned this for so long, and wanted to finally confess to Sehun. It didn’t matter if he wasn’t interested, he just wanted to salvage the friendship if everything got fucked up because having Sehun in his life was something he _needed_ now. Jongdae would accept being his friend, if that was all Sehun would will him to be.

_To: JD :3 [3:14 PM]_

_I’m really sorry about that, Jongdae. I wasn’t feeling well and overslept, so I forgot to text you._

What’s up with all the crazy punctuation marks and proper capitalization? Jongdae wants to shove his face into his phone to come up with a keyboard smash facial. He was worried. He reflects on his actions from the night before and wants to punch himself in the face. Did his behavior with Yifan make it seem like they were more than friends? No wonder Sehun was quiet. He was being too chummy with Yifan in front of someone he’s been wanting to grip by the collar and kiss for the longest time. Jongdae would probably feel the same way.

He’s never played push and pull with someone this frustratingly. Quite frankly, Jongdae thinks both of them are forward, but never simultaneously as they can’t seem to read the other.

No.

They were too scared to confirm the other’s feelings.

Jongdae was always so direct when he’s flirting, but something about him makes Oh Sehun question his skills and sanity. A great contributor to that was the goddamn playlist. Sehun couldn’t deny that listening to it made his heart flutter, but for some reason, his fingers involuntarily typed his passive aggressive message seconds ago. Completely unintentional, and he only realized the potential weight of the words after he hit send.

Ugh, should’ve washed up or taken a gulp of cold water first. The moment Sehun stopped doubting the foreign feelings, the sudden relief was drowned out by possibilities that knocked his self-confidence down cold. He didn’t want to think like this, but doesn’t know why it’s happening involuntarily.

_From: JD :3 [3:16 PM]_

_Sehun, Are you feeling alright_ _☹_ _If you are, can I come over and see you? i have something to say_

Sehun’s heart goes into arrhythmia. He replied sweetly, even if Sehun seemed cold and closed off. He didn’t even mention anything about the now ruined plans. He couldn’t resist Jongdae more. In fact, Sehun made it a point to tell the truth and confess to Jongdae when he arrived.

It didn’t matter if Jongdae told him that Yifan and he were a thing—he’d go crazy if he would never let Jongdae know about his feelings.

“Okay.” Sehun tells himself after he’s finished with his breakfast, or brunch rather. He can’t ignore Jongdae forever, especially when he doesn’t _want_ to.

To: JD :3 [3:25 PM]

just feeling a bit under the weather, don’t worry :< come over anytime.

He finally hits the send button and painstakingly waits for Jongdae’s reply. Sehun jumps around after seeing a sticker of a cat partying, and takes that as a good sign.

Now, he waits. He’s wrapped himself with his blankets for minutes, and feels his pulse point by his wrist. Sehun was trying to calm himself down but its swift tempo wasn’t dying down any moment soon.

After recollecting his thoughts, he lets out an ugly laugh after realizing that he’d used a musical term to just describe something he felt. So _this_ was Jongdae’s impact slowly creeping into his life without realizing it. He barely has the time to softly smile and reminisce when he hears a knock on the door.

It obviously isn’t Chanyeol.

He takes slow steps to the door, fearfully anticipating what’s to come next, but he surely doesn’t expect to see Jongdae looking vulnerable while clad in an oversized hoodie that just begged for a hug. The pale yellow looks so soft against his skin, but Sehun and he finally meet each other’s eyes. It seems Jongdae hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

Was he _that_ worried?

Sehun looks down to see a lunchbox in Jongdae’s small hands, clutched so tightly. He isn’t sure if he’s imagining things, but he thinks that Jongdae’s right pinky just twitched. The smaller takes a deep breath before initiating conversation. “I’m sorry for bothering you... You just woke up, didn’t you? I made some porridge for you since I figured you were sick, it’s still warm a—” Jongdae’s panicking and it’s so adorable, but Sehun can’t take it anymore. He wants Jongdae to know that he likes him, because he feels like he was even more of an asshole for dipping on their… Friend date? Now Jongdae’s here bringing him porridge without a complaint.

Jongdae looks bewildered when Sehun thanks him softly, and lays the lunchbox carefully on the floor. He finally releases the inner monologue he’s been thinking of for the longest time. “I’ve wanted to talk to you about this for forever but I never had the right timing.” Sehun starts, and Jongdae’s gaze of trepidation tells him he can continue. Sehun can’t even look at Jongdae because the semblance of fear showed up on the singer’s face. He didn’t dare to look at Sehun either, his eyes downcast, staring at Sehun’s bedroom slippers. “Okay so, I’ve been thinking over these past few months and,” Jongdae finally looks at him and he’s full of longing.

Maybe this was a sign. What if Jongdae had come to do the same?

This was it, and Sehun would do anything but back down.

Sehun closes his eyes as he grabs Jongdae’s hands. The tiny squeeze was all the reassurance he needed to go on. This is the first time Sehun would ever confess to anybody and he’d give it a shot, rejected or not.

Jongdae squeezes back yet again. “I’ve never felt this before and I tried to deny it at first, but Yeol told me to reflect and... Fuck... I think…” Jongdae’s hands are frozen now, and Sehun just wants to warm him up. The singer hasn’t breathed any words, waiting for Sehun to finish.

So he goes on. “No. I’m _sure_ I like you.” The smaller practically falls after failing to keep his balance from his elbow leaning from the doorway, but Sehun is oblivious to that and just focuses on the darkness he’s been accustomed to now.

There it is. Jongdae heard his words, he was certain. Sehun’s eyes are still shut as he anticipates the first love of his life possibly reciprocating his feelings. That would be a thrill, and shit does happen, but he holds on to hope. As intangible as hope may seem, any action or word of confirmation from Jongdae feeling the same way would have Sehun’s heart burst from excitement.

“Sehun—” Jongdae finally says something, the timbre of his voice unreadable, but Sehun is too afraid of rejection. Before hearing any of that, he wants Jongdae to know what his true feelings are. He was beyond afraid of what was to come next, since the singer’s response seemed quite delayed.

He didn’t want to mess this up. Sehun couldn’t just go back to his old life, feeling like he was just living day to day to finish academic requirements and just get his degree. With everything he’s learned from Jongdae, he’s learned to appreciate his own skills even more, and a newfound appreciation for dance resurfaced in him, albeit the years of trading practice with the dance team for study sessions and parties. He doesn’t want Jongdae to be out of his life, and he can’t imagine a week without hanging out with Jongdae, Minseok, and Chanyeol anymore. He’s just gotten to accustomed to welcoming the singer beside him all the time—his occupied space way too familiar. When Jongdae stops laughing or doesn’t have a smile on his face, everything just returns to its old bleak state, but Sehun loves the energy he emits.

Sehun can’t bear to lose Jongdae as a friend, but if he was rejected and they remained friends, he can’t imagine how he’d be able to handle hanging out with him still. It seemed like a double-edged sword, and he was a knight who had no other choice but to wield it, lest he be given a better weapon. The darkness Sehun sees is just a vague symbol of what it’s like for him when he thinks about a world without a Kim Jongdae again.

Eyes closed tighter than ever before, he begins yet again, unable to restrain his trembling lips from speaking up once more. “I thought it was just some nice feeling, cause we’re _friends_ , right? B-But no like... I…” Sehun’s hands are uncontrollably shaking now, and he mentally thanks Jongdae for clamping them down with both of his hands. “Really like it when you say nice things about me other people have n-never noticed before, care about me even when I say I’m fine, but I just… Love doing the same to you even _more_. I can’t even breathe properly around you when you touch me... I was afraid at first… But I… And I uh...” He feels one of Jongdae’s hands to stroke his cheek, and Sehun thinks he’s milliseconds away from wanting to bury himself in a hole.

Jongdae’s touch electrifies him—a lingering warmth amidst his cold fear, and Sehun tries to finish up with his rambling. “Goddamn I just really, _really_ like you so much but I feel like an idiot around you when I want to let you know I like you, and I know I can be super uncool but… But,” He must’ve been a rapper in his past life because he just spewed out those words in record time, with indescribable clarity. Too bad he kind of burst out in tears, and couldn’t go on anymore.

Gah, why’d he even cry?

Just thinking of the great person Jongdae is just made him so emotional, and he just buried his red face in his hands, hiding the embarrassment.

Sehun feels tiny hands planted on his shoulders, gentle against the thick fabric of his clothing.

In disbelief, the smaller lets out a worried gasp. It seems, he tried not to let it be audible, but Sehun heard it. He definitely did. “You’re crying, Oh Sehun? Calm down a bit, okay?” Jongdae clutches his shoulders and gently strokes them. He lets Sehun cry, observing how his chest is heaving up and down, never once force him to take his hands off his face. “Breathe slowly, Oh Sehun.” Jongdae’s voice is melodious as Sehun obeys and does exactly that. He sees the light somehow. He feels much better, especially after getting a faint glimpse of a dazzling smile on Jongdae’s lips through his fingers.

Even now, Jongdae was kind as ever, Sehun muses as he stops tearing up. “How lucky am I to be loved by a heart as soft as yours.” Jongdae’s finger gives Sehun’s chest the softest poke ever, and the taller finally slowly begins to look at Jongdae with bleary vision.

The taller’s heart soars when he sees a blinding smile flashed by the other, boasting sincerity. Only kindness is emitted from the light that Jongdae’s entire being is. He takes Sehun’s hands and languidly rubs soothing circles into it.

His hands are now warmly planted on Sehun’s shoulder again and his own eyes look teary this time. “It’s alright.” Jongdae pulls down the hem of his sleeve and lightly wipes Sehun’s tears off, before using the pad of his thumb.

Sehun’s heart was pounding even faster now, soaring even, when he noticed that Jongdae had to tiptoe to help him. Jongdae was touching him, for God’s sake! He just needed to get this over with and know if his feelings were accepted or not, so that he could crawl in his dorm room forever and never leave, if it wasn’t the case.

Jongdae just stares at him, and his eyebrows make that strange furrow again. Out of concern?

The silence is killing him. “So is that a euphemism for ‘you’re not my type’?” Sehun worriedly avoids eye contact and gently takes Jongdae’s hands away from his face.

It’s this feeling again.

He was right.

He really is certain it’s fondness, infatuation, maybe something on the brink of love.

Just seeing how much smaller Jongdae’s hands are than his makes him feel warm, but secure at the same time.

It feels like an eternity since Sehun started burning holes into his sneakers, hoping for a response. Jongdae simply rubs circles onto the taller’s hands, before flashing a wicked smile.

“It isn’t. I like you, Oh Sehun.” He proudly declares, with a defiant grin, making Sehun nearly pass out. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Freddie Mercury, you’re a genius, because that’s exactly what I’m questioning right now, Sehun thinks.

Sehun is just staring at him now, unable to form a response. “ _I wanna rock with you_.” Jongdae singsongs as he yanks Sehun down by the collar. The taller nearly somersaults backwards into the dorm room as Jongdae makes his way inside.

Jongdae’s lips are even softer than he could imagine. The singer nibbles on his lower lip, earning a soft whimper from Sehun’s mouth that he should’ve been ashamed of, but this is something new and surely wanted. He doesn’t want to suppress that sensation. The taller presses himself against Jongdae’s chest, holding him with his arms. It’s sweet and wholesome, and Sehun feels something in his chest— a sensation he’s longed for...

For forever, perhaps.

How lucky is he to be liked back by the person he adores with all his heart?

The smaller kisses back with all fervor in his heart, because he’s wanted this for so long too. Lightly switching between deeper kisses and light pecks was clearly driving Sehun insane as Jongdae pressed him to the wall. Having Sehun’s hands on him, roaming around as freely as they’ve yearned to made Jongdae want to pull him even closer. In between kisses, they just end up giggling or staring at each other until someone musters up the courage to latch onto the other again. The duo was very brave though. Sehun’s door was still very much wide open.

Sehun suddenly pulls away from the magical touch, because the dipshit thought of the most appropriate response at the most inappropriate time.

Jongdae looks confused at the loss of contact, fingers skittering, tracing every part of Sehun’s chiseled torso and arms as he’s wanted to for the longest time. Sehun wants _more_ of this.

“ _All night_ —" The taller sings back, but fails miserably because he ends up laughing, and the smaller yanks him down as the two meet for a kiss yet again.

The taller’s hands are settled on Jongdae’s waist yet again, but with conviction now. “You wanna see my tattoo again, don’t you? Saw you staring quite a bit.” Jongdae wiggles his brows yet again, but his face is still blissed out from that kiss. Sehun thinks he looks absolutely adorable right now, but his words make Sehun’s face burn from the embarrassment. He decides to fess up anyway.

“Yeah, yeah, Kim Jongdae. I _liked_ it a lot. It was undeniably hot. And I was jealous.” The taller admits, without a hit of shame. He had to be honest now. It wouldn’t be good to bottle up his feelings, since they just admitted to liking each other.

Oh, Jongdae smiles smugly to himself before realizing that Sehun just said he was jealous.

It couldn’t be because of Minseok, and definitely not Chanyeol so…

“Of Fanfan?” Jongdae is literally so stunned, like it was the last thing he expected.

He grabs Sehun’s hands with his tiny ones as Sehun gives a shy nod of agreement, making Jongdae’s jaw drop in confusion yet again.

His mouth is agape as Sehun resists the urge to kiss him again. Why hadn’t he done that earlier when it was so addictive, rendering them both thunderstruck in the fastest gust of wind? “Seriously?” The vocalist asks him, and gives his hands a reassuring squeeze. Sehun feels electricity pulse through his veins—simply holding Jongdae’s hands makes his heart feel warm.

Sehun buries his face in his hands, pretending to cry, as Jongdae tries to pry his hands off his face.

“Please don’t tell him.” Sehun fake cries even more, earning a loud yet concerned laugh from Jongdae’s lips. A second after Jongdae tried to yank Sehun’s hands, Sehun grabbed Jongdae’s hands and pressed a wet kiss to his forehead.

He smiles victoriously when he sees that Jongdae seems to be in a daze.

“So, Dae… I tried not to be jealous because I knew it was wrong, but seeing how comfy you were with him I ju—” Jongdae stood on his toes and cut him off, pressing his plush lips against Sehun’s. Seems like Sehun himself was irresistible too, huh. He winks after this, and Sehun finds himself flushed this time. So much for trying to keep his cool.

He’s still blinking back to reality when Jongdae suddenly plays with Sehun’s hands. “Don’t tell Chanyeol I was jealous when I saw you with his friend. Not good, I know, but my heart did this stupid thing. Quickly realized that you guys would obviously have nothing going on at all, but still… You know I like you now anyway so,” Jongdae admits with his head hung low. That was something Sehun didn’t expect to hear. He seriously didn’t even think about that happening, ever.

“Please! I would never, seriously. I-” Sehun chokes on thin air as Jongdae is completely whipped for him.

Jongdae threads his fingers through his golden locks as they share a chuckle, realizing how dumb they’ve been with misreading each other’s actions and words.

Jongdae realizes Minseok wasn’t wrong then. It was only natural for everyone would feel a bit insecure because of your crush’s friends. That only gave you more reasons to build up a stronger relationship with them, though. The only way was to communicate, and Sehun was glad they were doing exactly that right now.

“I know, yeah. But I’m glad you actually like me _back_.” Sehun scoffs at Jongdae’s words and hugs him. Jongdae rests his head on Sehun’s broad shoulder, where it fit perfectly.

Sehun lets Jongdae in his room slowly. “Well, you’re pretty lovable, Oh Sehun. Jealous Sehun was really hot though, now that I realize it, if that’s any consolation to our tomfoolery.” Jongdae peeps his head up, only clutching Sehun tighter.

They waited so long to be like this together, and Jongdae’s heart skyrocketed when Sehun squeezed him back even tighter. “I’ll find better ways to say it, or sing it soon, but I love you a lot more than you can imagine.” Jongdae winks as Sehun drags him to his bed.

Jongdae composing and dedicating a song to Sehun in the future? A dream he’ll probably be living out soon.

This felt so right, so good, and Sehun couldn’t be happier.

But Sehun won’t ever have to be jealous again, because he has me now, Jongdae thinks as they giddily walk to his bed. Sehun literally engulfs Jongdae into the biggest and tightest hug ever when they’re a mess of limbs on the sheets.

“But just cuddling with you would be much hotter.” Sehun flushes at the visual put in his head as he realizes that he’s living it right now, and squeezes Jongdae’s side from the double meaning, trying to tickle him.

Jongdae securely hooks a leg on Sehun’s front as he presses a kiss to his neck. The slight wetness induces goosebumps on Sehun’s skin. “Really Oh Sehun, _just_ cuddling? Under these thick sheets or would you want to do something else?” Jongdae’s on his Make Sehun Panic When They’re Alone agenda again, but the tables are turned as Sehun turns around and circles his arm around Jongdae’s slender waist, the tight contact making the smaller do the same.

The space on the bed is just perfect for them both, as Sehun just stares at Jongdae lovingly, appreciating the start of having Jongdae in his life like this. It seems like he was meant to be here, and Sehun couldn’t wait for Jongdae to crash, or for him to crash Jongdae’s place.

Sehun hums in contentment as neither of them give up their grip on the other. It feels nice to want. No.

It feels surreal to need, and be needed. Sehun thought he could only dream of finding someone who would appreciate him so much, and would make him realize that there were actually so many pleasant traits he had. The comfort Jongdae gave him was seriously unparalleled, but what made Sehun happier was the knowledge that he too, gave Jongdae the strength and reassurance he needed, even when he had no idea that Jongdae struggled too, at first.

Jongdae yelps as Sehun kisses him once again, shaking him out of his deep thoughts. His hands ended up snaking under his boyfriend’s hoodie where his abs immediately felt the contact from the cold fingertips, as he wasn’t wearing anything under He’s just too happy to be here, and hearing Jongdae shudder made him realize that he made the singer react like that.

“What’s wrong?” Sehun asks, brows knit in concern. Jongdae brushes Sehun’s hair away from his face for a second.

The singer immediately gets up to his feet. “We forgot to close the door, fuck!” Jongdae curses as Sehun’s eyes are blown widely by the realization. No one would probably see them anyway, right?

The moment Jongdae is back, he jumps and lands on Sehun who happily crushes him into a hug. “Oof!” Sehun groans in fake pain as Jongdae buries his head in Sehun’s shoulder. “Took you long enough.” He teasingly complains, as Jongdae immediately settles to press himself to Sehun’s body, with no sign of space in between them.

“Was too busy getting distracted by some hunk.” Jongdae shares his sentiments, fingers skittering against Sehun’s sides.

Sehun rolls his eyes. “I had no idea you’d be this cheesy when you’d become my boyfriend.” Jongdae takes the opportunity to laugh at the remark, but ends up straddling Sehun’s muscular thighs now. The rocker’s blond hair lightly covering his eyes a bit just makes him look so much more delicate, as Sehun appreciated his view. Sehun sneaks another kiss, arms and hands perfectly beginning to memorize each dip and groove of the singer’s body, earning a reward of hearing a symphony of his melodious soft moans. They meet in the middle as Sehun sits up, granting him perfect access to be held onto by Jongdae, to hold Jongdae, and to plant even deeper kisses.

Jongdae himself steals a soft kiss from Sehun, but attacks his jaw, making the taller squirm from the sensitivity. “You say that like you were waiting, huh? Well guess what, I hoped you’d become my boyfriend. And about the streetfest, we could still go, but I’m pretty sure we’d both rather stay here. Right?” Prayed too, actually. But Jongdae will tell him that soon enough because it might just induce Sehun’s tears.

“Of course I waited.” Sehun pushes Jongdae’s cheeks together so that a pout forms on his lips, and he gives his boyfriend a kiss. “But you’re right, I’d rather stay like this with you. Gotta tell Chanyeol not to be home anytime soon, though.” The taller suggestively responds, and Jongdae smacks his ass, giving it a squeeze nonetheless. Sehun yelps as they have an unplanned pillow fight, well, pillow but make it kiss. Jongdae doesn’t just belong in Sehun’s room, or on Sehun’s bed. He belonged in Sehun’s life, the way Sehun perfectly fit in _his_ life.

They’re two dumbasses just loving each other with all their heart, doing stupid things, but people do stupid things for love.

Then again, maybe it’d be branded as stupid by Oh Sehun from months ago.

But this?

This felt like home more than anything else had ever felt.

 _This_ was blooming to become the deepest love Sehun would ever experience.

In fact, their late night talks gave Sehun the courage to finally reflect on what he wanted to pursue.

He wanted to accept modeling gigs he was too afraid of acknowledging, and he wanted to dance more than anything. Maybe he could even dance to Jongdae’s music, his heart thumped at the thought as Jongdae lightly breathed in his arms, hours later.

This was contentment, he figured. Cradling your lover in your arms as they rest their weariness away by spending time with you.

For this love, ~~Sehun would make a thousand paper cranes.~~

Scratch that.

Sehun would make a billion paper cranes for Jongdae.

An even better idea? Sehun would make him a playlist.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you appreciate music just a tiny bit more after reading this!
> 
> Thank you so so so much for reading!
> 
> I think there are quite a lot of clues that'll help you guess who I am (references from complete and incomplete works of mine, oops. 
> 
> Would really appreciate feedback! <3 Don't forget to read and support other author's works and the mods who made this fest possible.


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